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THE 

MODERN TRAVELLER. 

A 

POPULAR DESCRIPTION, 

GEOGRAPHICAL, HISTORICAL, AND TOPOGRAPHICAL, 

OF THE 

VARIOUS COUNTRIES OF THE GLOBE. 



MEXICO and GUATIMALA. 

VOL. II. 

1 

071 . 



LONDON : 



PRINTED FOR JAMES DUNCAN ; 

OLIVER AND BOYD, EDINBURGH; M. OGLE, GLASGOW; 
AND R. M. TIMS, DUBLIN. 

1825. 



.end 



7 



LONDON : 

PRINTED BY J. MOYES, BOUVER1E STREET. 



6/5 



CONTENTS 

OF THE SECOND VOLUME. 



MEXICO. 

PAGE 

GUANAXUATO • ••. ■ 1 

FROM GUANAXUATO TO ALTAMIRA 17 

SAN LUIS POTOSI 18 

INTERIOR EASTERN PROVINCES ■ 23 

SAN BLAS ,••••• 34 

TEPIC ....-' 42 

GUADALAXARA f. 50 

ZACATECAS 54 

DURANGO 55 

SONORA ' 64 

NEW MEXICO 71 

NEW CALIFORNIA 88 

OLD CALIFORNIA 97 

FROM SANTA FE TO NATCHITOCHES 101 

VALLADOLID 118 

VOLCANO OF JORULLO 121 

OAXACA 127 

RUINS AT MITLA 130 

TEHUANTEPEC 134 

MERIDA, OR YUCATAN 147 

CHIAPA • 152 

RUINS OF P.ALENQUE 157 

CONCLUSION • ■ - 169 



nr CONTENTS, 

GUATIMALA. 

PAGK 

BOUNDARIES 177 

STATE OF THE COUNTRY PRIOR TO THE CON- 
QUEST 178 

TERRITORIAL LIMITS AND PROVINCIAL DIVI- 
SIONS 191 

MOSQUITO SHORE 194 

PROVINCES ON THE COAST OF THE PACIFIC.. 197 

VALLEY OF GUATIMALA 215 

OLD GUATIMALA 222 

NEW GUATIMALA 238 

VOLCANOES OF GUATIMALA 247 

PROVINCE OF SOLOLA 256 

PROVINCES OF QUEZALTENANGO AND TOTONI- 

CAPAN 261 

PROVINCES ON THE ATLANTIC COAST 273 

INTENDANC Y OF NICARAGUA 301 

PROJECTED SHIP CANAL FOR UNITING THE 

TWO OCEANS 303 

PROVINCE OF COSTA RICA 312 

CONCLUSION • 318 



DIRECTIONS FOR PLACING THE PLATES. 

Vol. I. Map of Mexico to face the Title. 

Pyramid ofCnoLULA 254 

The Great Square at Mexico 268 

Basaltic Rocks at Rfgla 356 

Vol. II. Suburbs of GuANAXUATo...toface the Title. 

Indians of Mechoacan 119 

Volcano of Jorullo 121 



THE 

MODERN TRAVELLER, 



ETC. ETC. 



MEXICO. 



GUANAXUATO. 



The city of Santa Fe de Guanaxuato (or, as it is 
sometimes written and pronounced, Gonnajoato) is 
the Villa Rica of Mexico, being placed in the very- 
heart of its richest groupe of silver mines, on the 
porphyritic range of the Sierra de Santa Rosa.* It 
is one of the most singularly situated cities in the 
world. One might imagine that the jealous spirit of 
the mine had chosen this labyrinth of mountain 
ravines as his capital, for the purpose at once of secu- 
rity and concealment ; and the extraordinary shapes 
assumed by the gigantic masses of porphyry, have 
frequently the appearance of ruined walls and bastions. 
These rocks give to the environs an extremely romantic 
appearance. The hills which surround the city are 
partly arid, partly covered with shrubs and evergreen 
oaks, which greatly heighten the picturesque effect. 
The city itself is entirely screened from view by the 
windings of the narrow defile which leads into the 
recesses of the mountain ; and when the traveller at 



* Humboldt gives the latitude 21° 0' 9" N. ; long. 101)° W. 
PART HI. B 



2 MEXICO. 

length finds himself introduced into the city, he has 
no idea of its extent, one part being so hidden from 
another, that, viewed from the streets, it appears 
to be a small town. It is only by ascending the 
heights on the opposite side, that a view is gained of 
the whole valley, broken into ravines, along the sides 
of which the town is built. Surveyed from this 
point, the novelty of its situation strikes the stranger 
with astonishment. In some places, it is seen spread- 
ing out into the form of an amphitheatre ; in others, 
stretching along a narrow ridge ; while the ranges of 
the habitations, accommodated to the broken ground, 
present the most fantastic groupes. 

" Nothing can be more ruinous and gloomy," 
says the Author of Notes on Mexico, " than the 
approach to the city ; but, on leaving the bed of 
the river, we ascended a steep projecting rock, and 
entered a street, skirting a ravine, supported by a lofty 
stone wall, having houses on only one side of it. We 
soon found ourselves in the heart of the town, 
winding along crooked, narrow streets, and across 
open spaces, which cannot be called squares, for they 
are irregular and of indescribable forms, most of 
them filled with market-stalls. The houses present a 
very singular appearance. They are spacious and 
well built, of hewn stone, but the fronts have been 
newly painted, and of the gayest colours : light green 
is the favourite ; and some exhibit the colours of the 
Three Guarantees of the Plan of Iguala, — white, 
green, and red, which are now the national colours of 
Mexico.* We were conducted to the custom-house, 
where we had only to make a declaration that we had 
not more than one thousand dollars with us, arid were 

* This was in the year 1822, during the reign of Iturbide. 



MEXICO. 3 

suffered to proceed to the meson, A traveller is 
allowed to carry with him a sum not exceeding a 
thousand dollars, without paying duty. Our meson 
is very comfortable. We have two rooms up stairs, 
that look on the street, with a table and a bench in 
each. Our mattresses are on the floor, but then it is 
paved, and the white-washed walls are almost clean." 
The city of Guanaxuato was founded by the 
Spaniards in 1545. It was constituted a town in 
1619, and invested with the privileges of a city in 
1741. The first mine that was worked, that of 
San Barnabe, five leagues from the city, was begun in 
1548, twenty-eight years after the death of Mon- 
tezuma. In 1758, the mines of Meblado and Ray as 
were opened on the great vein (yeta madre). But, 
for a considerable time, the mines of Guanaxuato 
attracted little notice, and they were almost aban- 
doned during the seventeenth and eighteenth cen- 
turies. It is not above fifty years that they have 
become so famous. They are now esteemed richer 
than those of either Pachuca, Zacatecas, or Bolanos ; 
and their produce has been almost double that of 
Potosi. In thirty-eight years, namely, from 1766 to 
1803, the mines of Guanaxuato produced gold and 
silver to the value of 165,000,000 of piastres, or 
12,720,0611b. troy ; the annual average produce being 
556,000 marcs of silver, or 364,9111b. troy, and 
from 1,500 to 1,600 marcs of gold.* All the veins of 
Hungary and Transylvania together yield only, on an 
average, 85,000 marcs of silver.-]- The mother vein 

* Humboldt states, that the veto, madre of Guanaxuato has 
yielded more than a fourth part of the silver of Mexico, and a 
sixth part of the produce of all America. 

t But, although the quantity of silver annually extracted from 

the mines of Mexico, is ten times greater than what is furnished 

B 2 



4 MEXICO. 

(yeta madre) of the Sierra de Santa Rosa extends, in 
a direction from S.E. to N.W., rather more than five 
leagues ; and within this distance, from Valenciana 
to San Bruno, there are upwards of a hundred shafts 
opened, which, before the Revolution, were yielding 
10,000 mule-loads of ore, of eleven arrobas (275 lb.) 
each, every week. In 1803, there were employed on 
the works, 5000 workmen, 1,896 grinding mills, and 
14,618 mules. " The Valenciana" says Humboldt, 
" is almost the sole example of a mine which, for forty 
years, has never yielded less to its proprietors than 
from two to three millions of francs annual profit 
(from 80 to 120,000/.).| It appears that the part of the 
vein extending from Tepeyac to the north-west, had 
not been much wrought towards the end of the 
sixteenth century. From that period, the whole tract 
remained forsaken till 1760, when a Spaniard who 
went over to America very young, began to work this 
vein in one of the points Avhich had till that time been 
believed to be destitute of the metals. M. Obregon 
(that was the name of this Spaniard) was without 
fortune ; but, as he had the reputation of being a 
worthy man, he found friends who from time to time 
advanced him small sums to carry on his operations. 
In 1766, the works were already 260 feet in depth, 
and yet, the expenses greatly surpassed the value 
of the metallic produce. With a passion for mining, 
equal to what some display for gaming, M. Obregon 
preferred submitting to every sort of privation, to 

by all the mines of Europe, gold is not much more abundant 
in New Spain than in Hungary and Transylvania. The latter 
countries, Humboldt says, annually throw into circulation nearly 
5,200 marcs; and the gold delivered into the mint of Mexico, 
amounts, in ordinary years, only to 7»000 marcs. The annual pro- 
duce of New Spain is estimated by Humboldt at 23,000,000 of 
piastres, vis. twenty-two of silver and one of gold. 



MEXICO. 5 

abandoning his undertaking. In 1767, he entered 
into partnership with a petty merchant of Rayas, 
named Otero. Could he then hope that, in the space 
of a few years, he and his friend would become 
the richest individuals in Mexico, perhaps in the 
whole world ? In 1768, they began to extract a very 
considerable quantity of silver from the mine of 
Valenciana. In proportion as the shafts went deeper, 
they approached the depository of the great metallic 
wealth of Guanaxuato. In 1771? they drew from the 
pertinencia de dolores enormous masses of sulphuret 
of silver, mixed with native and red silver. From 
that period till 1804, the mine of Valenciana has con- 
tinually yielded an annual produce of nearly 600,000/. 
sterling. There have been years so productive, that 
the net profit of the two proprietors of the mine 
has amounted to the sum of 250,000/. sterling. 
M. Obregon, better known by his title of Count 
de la Valenciana, preserved, in the midst of immense 
wealth, the same simplicity of manners and the same 
frankness of character, by which he was distinguished 
previously to his success.* When he began to work 
the vein of Guanaxuato, above the ravine of San 
Xavier, goats were feeding on the very hill which, ten 
years afterwards, was covered with a town of 7 or 
8,000 inhabitants/' f 

Throughout Mexico, the ore is poor, much more so 

* During the last twenty-five years of his life, his annual 
revenue from his mine, was never below from 80 to 125,000^., and 
yet, at his death, he left behind him only 400,0001. in property, 
exclusive of his mine; a fact which, Humboldt says, will not sur- 
prise persons who are acquainted with the interior management 
of the great Mexican families, and the unbounded spirit of mining 
speculation. 

t Pol. Essay, vol. iii. pp. 193—5. 



6 MEXICO. 

than in the mines of Europe. The average propor- 
tion is not higher than three or four ounces of silver 
to 1,600 ounces of ore. Garces, the author of a valu- 
able treatise on Amalgamation, states, that " the 
great mass of Mexican ore is so poor, that the three 
millions of marcs of silver which the kingdom yields 
in good years, are extracted from ten millions of 
quintals of ore, partly by heat, and partly by amalga- 
mation." The mine of Valenciana at Guanaxuato, 
yielded, from January 1, 1787, to June 11, 1791, the 
sum of 1,737,052 marcs of silver, which were ex- 
tracted from 84,368 montones of ore. A monton is 
thirty-two quintals, which gives five ounces and one- 
tenth of silver per quintal. The ore extracted in 1791 
yielded nine ounces and three-tenths of silver per 
quintal ; viz. the quintal of rich ore (polvillos y 
xabones), 22 marcs 3 ounces ; the second quality (apol- 
villado), 9 marcs 3 ounces ; the third quality (bianco 
bueno), 3 marcs 1 ounce, and the poor ore and sift- 
ings, 3 ounces. The expenses of working the mines 
are very considerable. Those of the mine of Valen- 
ciana, at the time that the produce amounted to from 
12 to 14 millions of dollars, were upwards of 900,000 
dollars, viz. 680,000 in wages, and 220,000 for 
powder, tallow, wood, leather, steel, and other mate- 
rials.* At that time, there were 1800 men employed 



* In 1803, the mine of Valenciana produced 27>000 dollars per 
week ; 3,100 individuals were employed; and the weekly expenses 
were 17,000 dollars. In nine years, this mine yielded 13,835,380 
dollars, and the expenses of extraction were 8,046,063 dollars, 
leaving a gross profit of 5,789,317 dollars, subject to the duty, 
seignorage, &c. " When we take into calculation," says the Ame- 
rican Traveller, " the costly works at these mines, the expensive 
process of separating the precious metals from the ore, the high 
wages of all the employes, from the administrator to the common 
labourer, the tax of 10 per cent paid to the government, and the 



MEXICO. 7 

in the interior of the mine, besides 300 men, women, 
and children, in different ways. Almost all the ore is 
brought up by porters. The state of these mines, 
indeed, says the Author of Notes on Mexico, is 
deplorable. u The expenses of working them have 
already been prodigiously augmented by the depth of 
the shafts and the prolongation of the galleries ; 
and it will require a large capital to establish forcing 
pumps to extract the water. In many instances, 
it will be impossible to employ steam as the moving 
power, from the great scarcity of fuel." 

According to Humboldt, the population of Guanax- 
uato in 1802 was, within the city, 41,000 ; in the 
suburbs and mines surrounding it, 29,600: total, 
70,600. But, from a census taken in May 1822, the 
inhabitants of the city appear to be now only 15,379, 
and the total population only 35,733 ; * being a 
diminution of nearly one half. The town or suburb 
of Valenciana alone formerly contained a population 
of 22,000 souls ; it is now in ruins, and there are not 
more than 4,000 inhabitants. The American Tra- 
veller gives the following account of the works as they 
appeared at the period of his visit. 

" The excavations extend from south-east to north- 
west, sixteen hundred yards, and eight hundred yards 

very expensive works undertaken on the slightest indication of 
silver ore, and which are frequently pursued with great ardour to 
the utter ruin of the undertakers, — we shall find that the whole 
profits of mining in New Spain, do not exceed 6 per cent on the 
capital employed." A decree of the junta of the 13th Feb., 1822, 
reduced the tenth to 3 per cent, and the treasurer (Don Francisco 
Arillaga), in his report made to Congress in Nov. 1823, intimates 
his expectation of great results/rom the introduction of steam-engines 
by foreign capitalists. It remains to be seen how far these expec- 
tations will be realised. 

* Of these, the males were 16,425, the females 19,308. There 
were unmarried, 20,244; married, 11,962; widowed and widowers, 
3,527- 

PART III. C 



8 MEXICO. 

in a south-west direction. There are three parallels, 
or plains, worked on ramiiications of the principal 
vein. The veta rnadre, or mother vein, was here 
found not more than twenty-two feet wide, and 
without any ramification, from the surface of the 
soil to the depth of 557 feet : at this depth, it 
divides into three branches, the entire mass being 
from 165 to 195 feet thick. Of these three branches, 
not more than one is in general very productive. 
They have all the same angle (45°), but vary in 
thickness from nine to forty yards. Four shafts de- 
scend to these parallels. The first, called San Antonio, 
is of 744 feet perpendicular depth : the cost of this shaft 
was 396,000 dollars. The square shaft of Santo 
Christo, 492 feet deep, cost 95,000 dollars. The 
hexagon shaft of our Lady of Guadeloupe, 1,131 feet 
perpendicular depth, cost 700,000 dollars. San Jose, 
an octagon shaft of more than 1,800 feet perpen- 
dicular depth, and 300 feet in the direction of the 
veta madre, which is an angle of 45°, cost 1,?00,000 
dollars. 

u To understand the necessity of sinking so many 
shafts of different depths, it may be necessary to 
explain, that in following the dip of the vein, which 
is first discovered on the surface, and is almost in- 
variably an angle of 45°, the work is impeded after a 
certain depth by water. A shaft is then sunk, so as 
to intercept the vein at the termination of the gallery, 
in order to free the mine from water. The work 
is then continued until it becomes necessary to sink 
another shaft still deeper, to clear the lower galleries. 
At the termination of each shaft, a great many par- 
allel galleries branch out on ramifications of the 
mother vein. 

44 From these parallels a vast number of smaller 



MEXICO. 9 

galleries branch out, worked to a greater or less 
distance as the ore proved to be of good or bad 
quality ; and many of them were pierced with a view 
of discovering other veins. Besides the shafts, there 
are two descents by steps, winding down to the 
last parallel. On leaving the house of the admini- 
strador, we were conducted to the first flight of steps : 
preceded by four men carrying torches, we de- 
scended to the first parallel, and stopped where four 
galleries branch off. 

" Our torch-bearers were sent off to the extremity 
of these galleries, that we might form some idea of 
their extent in a straight line. They are both exten- 
sive and solid ; the vaults are of porphyry, and 
the bottom of gray slate. In some places where the 
ore proved very rich, it has been taken from the sides 
and vaults, and the voids filled up with masonry and 
beams, worked in so as to form a firm support to 
the sides and roof. These galleries have been blasted 
out, and must have cost great labour, for the whole 
mountain is of porphyry to a great depth. 

" The exterior is covered with a crust of brescia, 
which extends not more than four or five feet from 
the surface. The ore is for the most part extracted 
by drilling and blasting : sometimes, but very rarely, 
the wedge can be used. On our return, we plodded 
painfully up these stairs, which the car g adores (por- 
ters) ascend with ease, with a load of ten or fifteen 
arrobas on their shoulders. They are paid according 
to the quantity they bring up ; and some of these 
men will ascend, as we are told, from the perpen- 
dicular depth of 500 yards, carrying the enormous 
weight of twenty -four arrobas (600 lbs.). In the court- 
yard into which we entered from the gallery, and 
where the workmen are searched, there was a large 



10 MEXICO. 

heap of ore, accumulated by each workman being 
obliged to bring a stone up in his hand every time he 
ascends, and throw it on this heap. There are about 
1,000 workmen at present employed, and in the 
course of a week a large pile is formed. The product 
of this belongs to the mine, and forms a fund for con- 
tingent expenses. The matrices of these ores, which 
we had here a good opportunity of examining, are 
principally quartz, amethyst, and rock-crystal, horn- 
stone here and there, and a small portion of cal- 
careous spar of a dark brown and of pearl colour. 
The metals are, pyrites of iron, arsenic, yellow copper, 
galena, gray and yellow blende, virgin gold and silver, 
sulphate of silver, both brittle and ductile, and rosicler, 
a rich silver ore of a bright rosy colour, which we did 
not see. This ore is so rare, that I could not meet 
with a specimen during my residence in Mexico. 
There are likewise veins with copper, lead, tin, cinna- 
bar, antimony, and manganese ; and the crystals of the 
carbonate of lime that are found in this mine, are very 
large and perfect. 

" We next visited the principal shaft, San Jose, an 
octagon, the diameter eleven yards, and the perpendi- 
cular depth 600. This great work, which cost upwards 
of a million of dollars, is in some places blasted through 
solid rock, and in others walled up with hewn stone : 
the masonry is admirably well executed. The workmen 
threw bundles of lighted hay down the shaft, which 
blazed as they descended, and which we saw fall into 
the water, now not more than 250 yards from the 
summit, and rising every day. After failing in his 
attack on the city of Guanaxuato, Mina caused the 
machinery of the mine of Valenciana to be burnt, and 
the owners have not funds to renew it. 

u From these mines we went to a shaft called Guade- 



MEXICO. 1 1 

loupe where we found two malacates in operation, 
These machines are used to free mines from water, and 
to draw up the ore. A malacate is a drum of about ten 
feet in diameter, attached to a vertical spindle, a shaft 
of fifteen feet long, which is shod with steel, and 
turns in steel sockets. Poles project at right angles 
from the shaft, to which the horses are harnessed. 
Two ropes are passed round the drum, and over 
pulleys supported by poles twelve feet high and about 
ten feet apart, leading to the well. As the drum 
turns, one rope descends, and the other is wound up, 
and raises a large skin full of ore, or buckets of water, 
by what the French call a chapelet. At the principal 
or octagonal shaft, eight malacates were kept con- 
stantly at work, night and day. Each malacate was 
moved by twelve horses, and drew up, by a succession 
of buckets, seventy-eight arrobas (975 quarts) every 
nine or ten minutes: 95,000 arrobas, or 31,800 cu- 
bic feet of water, might be raised by this means every 
twenty-four hours. It happened to be a sale day, 
and in the same court where the malacates were 
at work, we saw three or four hundred people col- 
lected ; some exposing the ore to the best advan- 
tage, and others examining its quality. This mine 
is now worked by halves, the workmen receiving 
one half of the profits, and the owners of the mine 
the other. The workmen were busily employed 
in arranging the pieces of ore in parallelograms, com- 
posed of small circular heaps of ore. They were very 
careful to place the richest pieces at top, and the 
fairest side in sight. When all was prepared, the 
salesman placed himself at the head of the first 
parallelogram ; and the buyers, after examining the 
quality of the ore, whispered in his ear the price they 
were willing to give for it. When all had made their 



12 MEXICO. 

offers, he declared aloud the highest bid and the name 
of the purchaser. A note was made of the sale, and 
the whole party moved to the next parcel of ore, and 
so on, until the whole was disposed of. 

" There are two sale days in the week, Wednesday 
and Saturday; and the weekly sales amount to be- 
tween 5 and 6,000 dollars." 

On the following day, our Traveller set out to visit 
a hacienda de plata, belonging to the Conde de Valen- 
ciana, in the Canada de Marfil. "It is a spacious 
building, divided into three large courts ; one for pre- 
paring the ores (patio pa. beneficiar), and the others 
for horses and mules. The front is two stories high, 
very neatly built, and forms an excellent dwelling- 
house. From the house, we walked through the first 
court, where men and mules were treading out masses 
of mud, and entered a long range of buildings, where 
there were thirty-five mills at work grinding the ore. 

" This hacienda, in prosperous times, works seventy 
mills. They resemble bark-mills. A circle of about 
eleven feet in diameter, is paved with stones set up 
edgeways, and rubbed down to a smooth surface ; in 
the centre of the circle an upright shaft moves in 
sockets. From this an axle projects, and passes through 
the centre of a millstone that rolls on its periphery : 
to the end of this axle the traces of the mules that 
turn it are attached. The first process is, separating 
the ore from the stones and refuse. Women are em- 
ployed in this work. They throw aside the stones 
that have no ore, and with a hammer chip off small 
pieces of ore from those that have a little only on the 
surface. They perform this operation Avith great skill 
and great despatch. The ore is then placed on a thick 
iron plate, and is pounded by wooden pestles shod with 
iron, and moved by a horizontal shaft furnished with 



MEXICO. 13 

arms, like the movement of the pestles in our rice- 
mills. Two men, stationed one on each side, draw 
the ore from under the pestles upon plates that slope 
down from the top, and are perforated with holes so 
as to sift the ore as it falls on them. The large pieces 
are thrown back under the pestles. 

" After the ore is broken into very small pieces, it 
is put into the mill, mixed with water, and ground to 
an impalpable powder. A small quantity of quick- 
silver is sometimes mixed w T ith this mass while in the 
mill. From the mills, the ore, ground to a powder 
and moistened, is conveyed to the patio pa. beneficiar y 
the open paved court -yard ; salt is then added in the 
proportion of about two pounds to every hundred 
weight of ore. If the mass, which is left untouched 
for several days, heats too rapidly, lime is added, 
which, the superintendant told us, cools it : if, on the 
contrary, it continues cold, magistral is mixed with it, 
in order to give it the proper temperature. The 
magistral is a copper ore, or more properly a mixture 
of pyrites of copper and sulphuretted iron, which is 
roasted in a furnace, cooled gradually, and then re- 
duced to a powder; a small quantity of salt is after- 
wards mixed with it. A small quantity of the pow- 
dered magistral was put into my hand, and water 
poured upon it. The heat evolved was so great, that I 
was obliged to throw it away instantly ; probably 
owing to the sulphuric acid acting upon the metals 
and disengaging heat. 

" The next operation is, to add quicksilver to the 
mass, commonly six times the quantity which it is sup- 
posed the mass contains of silver. This mixture of ore, 
ground to a fine powder and moistened, of quicksilver, 
muriate of soda, and the sulphates of iron and copper, 
is made into an amalgam by being trodden by mules, 



14 MEXICO. 

which are driven round for hours together ; or hy 
men, who tread the mass with naked feet. We saw 
both in one mass ; twelve mules were trotting round 
up to their fetlocks in the mixture ; and in another, 
ten men were following each other, and treading up 
to their ankles in it. The superintendant examines 
the appearance of the amalgam from time to time, by 
taking up a little of it in a wooden bowl, and adds 
either salt, quicksilver, or magistral, as he hnds ne- 
cessary to complete the amalgamation. 

" This process is repeated every other day until a 
perfect amalgam is made, when it is conveyed into 
large vats filled with water. In the centre of the vat 
there is an upright shaft, furnished with arms and 
turned by mules, so as to stir up the ore and mix it 
well with the water. It is left to subside, and the 
water is let off gently, carrying with it a portion of 
earth, and leaving the amalgam, which is precipitated : 
this process is repeated until the amalgamation is freed 
from all extraneous matter. It is then moulded into 
triangles, which are placed under stout iron recipients 
of a bell shape, and the mercury is separated by heat, 
leaving the silver with a small portion of copper, not 
enough for the usual alloy. 

u One of the grinding-mills, in which quicksilver 
had been added to the mass, was emptied and cleaned 
in my presence, in order to get out the amalgam, which 
is precipitated, and lodges in the interstices of the 
stones with which these mills are paved. After the 
floating mass was removed, the stones were scraped, 
and the crevices emptied. The contents were put 
into a wooden bowl and washed. This amalgam, be- 
sides silver, contains a large portion of gold. The 
ore of the mine of Valenciana contains some gold, 
which unites with the quicksilver, and this amalgam, 



MEXICO. 15 

being so much heavier, is more quickly precipitated. 
The bars of silver made from these cleanings, contain 
always the largest portion of gold, and are kept 
apart." 

The Sierra of Santa Rosa is the most southern dis- 
trict of that metalliferous tract of country which is 
by far the richest in Mexico, and abounds more in 
silver than any other on the face of the globe. This 
central groupe, extending from lat. 21° 0' to 24° 10' 
N., and from long. 102° 30' to 105° 15' W., is situ- 
ated under the same parallel as Bengal, but in a cli- 
mate partaking more of the character of the temperate, 
than of the tropical zone. The mines of Guanaxuato 
are only 30 leagues distant in a straight line from 
those of San Luis Potosi : from the latter to Zacatecas, 
the distance is 34 leagues ; from Zacatecas to Catorce 
31 ; and from Catorce to Durango 74 leagues. The 
mean produce of the mines of New Spain, annually ex- 
ported from Vera Cruz, is stated to have been two mil- 
lions and a half of marcs of silver, being two thirds of 
the silver annually extracted from the whole globe. Of 
this 2,500,000, not less than ] ,300,000 was yielded by 
Guanaxuato, Catorce, and Zacatecas, or the " central" 
groupe. 

Guanaxuato, however, is not only a mining, but an 
agricultural district. " The lands are fertile, and are 
cultivated to the base of the mountains ; and the 
morals of the inhabitants of the country, who are 
frugal and industrious, form a strong contrast to those 
of the miners, who, when the mines were in success- 
ful operation, were all wealthy, and lived extrava- 
gantly, and many of whom are now in abject poverty." 

The inhabitants of the city appeared to this Tra- 
veller lively, intelligent, and well-informed : he found 
them extremely hospitable and friendly. In common, 



16 MEXICO. 

however, with the inhabitants of most mining districts^ 
they are passionately fond of gambling. The com- 
mandant of the city was, moreover, a great amateur 
of cock-fighting ; and our Traveller was not a little 
annoyed, early in the morning, by the continual 
crowing of more than a hundred cocks, the property 
of this worthy person, which, tied by one leg, were 
arranged along the pavement on both sides of the 
street : they were to be exhibited at the ensuing 
Christmas. " In all the towns and villages of Mex- 
ico," he says, " cock-fighting is the favourite diversion 
of the people. Rich and poor, men and women, fre- 
quent the pits, and stake sometimes all they are worth 
on the issue of a battle between two cocks armed with 
slashers." 

Guanaxuato is liable to two serious inconveniences 
from its peculiarity of situation. During the rainy 
season, it is exposed to injury from the violent tor- 
rents that rush from the mountains down the barranca, 
or ravine, in which the city stands, in their passage 
to the plain of Celaya. Large sums have been ex- 
pended on works to restrain these torrents within a 
channel, notwithstanding which, accidents happen 
almost every year. On the other hand, the only 
water in the city, is that which is contained in the 
cisterns belonging to the wealthy inhabitants. About 
two miles from the town, however, there are deep 
ravines, which, by means of dams, are made to serve 
as reservoirs : the water is brought into the city on 
the backs of asses, and sold at six cents a load. 

We must now accompany the American Citizen on 
his route 



MEXICO. IT 



FROM GUANAXUATO TO SAN LUIS POTOSI AND 
ALTAMIRA. 

At Guanaxuato our Traveller dismissed his car- 
riage, and procured mules for the passage over the 
mountains. The steep track which winds along the 
ravines from Valenciana, is so broken and precipitous, 
that goats, mules, and asses only can travel it with 
safety. The sides of the mountains and ravines are 
covered with a thick growth of small oaks, and the 
city is supplied with fuel from these woods ; hut the 
want of good roads renders it an expensive article, 
notwithstanding the extensive forests in the neigh- 
bourhood. The bare summits of the hills are washed 
into fantastic shapes, and the character of the 
scenery is very wild and picturesque. The road for 
three hours leads over this rugged solitude, till, having 
reached the crest of the sierra, the traveller looks 
down on the fertile valley of San Felipe, enclosed on 
every side, like the basin of Anahuac, by a wall of 
mountains. At its further extremity is seen the town 
of San Felipe. " With this prospect constantly in 
view," says the Writer, " we rode for nearly five 
hours along the summit of the ridge, and then de- 
scended by a winding and steep path, to the village 
of Rincon, where Ave arrived quite overcome with 
fatigue. We obtained lodgings, with some difficulty, 
in a room attached to a cottage. The inhabitants of 
Rincon are goatherds and swineherds ; and at sunset, 
the village was alive with the flocks and droves 
coming in from the mountains." 

Second day — From Rincon to Xaral. The Author 
set out at two o'clock in the morning, by a bright 
moonlight : the cold was piercing. At sunrise, the 



18 MEXICO. 

houses and churches of San Felipe appeared as if rising 
out of a lake, the effect of a mirage. This town ex- 
hibited a melancholy instance of the horrors of civil 
war. Scarcely a house was entire, and except one 
church that had been recently rebuilt, the whole town 
appeared to be in ruins. The travellers halted in 
the principal square, and passed through arches of 
porphyry, into the court-yard of a building that had 
once been magnificent, but the porticoes and ground- 
floor alone remained. Soon after leaving San Felipe, 
the road again begins to ascend the mountains by a 
steep and rugged pass, called Puerto de San Bartolo. 
On gaining the summit, " a painful ascent of more 
than an hour," another extensive and fertile plain is 
seen, in the centre of which is the village or hacienda 
of Xaral, where the travellers arrived a little before 
four P.M. This is the place which was surprised and 
plundered by the troops of Mina in the revolutionary 
war.* 

Third day Starting at three o'clock, the Author 

reached at ten, the hacienda de la Pila, a very neat 
village, where there are silver-works. An hour's ride 
from this place brought him within sight of the spires 
of San Luis, and at one he passed the suburbs. 

SAN LUIS POTOSI. 

"The whole country from La Pila to San Luis, 
is cultivated like a garden ; but its beauty is destroyed 
by mud-cabins and enclosures of cactus. The town 
itself presents a fine appearance : the churches are 
lofty, and some of them very handsome, and the 
houses are of stone and neatly built. The government - 

* See vol. i. p. 121. 



MEXICO. 19 

house in the square is not yet completed ; but the 
front, which is of hewn stone, and ornamented with 
Ionic pilasters, would do credit to any city in Europe." 
The Carmelite convent is spacious and commodious, 
with an extensive garden, which is cultivated with 
great care, and kept in excellent order : the walks are 
shaded with vines, and the cloisters are ornamented 
with orange and lemon-trees. The windows of the 
convent command a beautiful prospect of the fertile 
plain, terminated by a bold outline of mountains. 
The church belonging to it is all tinsel and gilding, 
and in wretched taste. The people of San Luis ap- 
peared " better dressed and better looking " than in 
any town which the Author had yet passed through, 
and there were fewer beggars in its streets. Hum- 
boldt states the resident population at 12,000. The 
American Traveller estimates it at 15,000, and adds, 
that, including all the villages in its immediate vi- 
cinity, it amounts to three times that number. It 
stands in lat. 22° N., long. 103° W.* 

For three hours after leaving the city of San Luis, 
the road lies eastward through a country but partially 
cultivated, and overgrown with cactus and yucca arbo- 
rescens, which give a gloomy appearance to the sce- 
nery. The fruit of the cactus {tuna) is here considered 
as a great delicacy ; cattle are fed upon the leaves, 
and the stem, which is about ten feet high, is used for 
fuel. The soil of this tract is a " whitish clay ;"•)• and 
when pulverised by the passage of mules, the dust is 
intolerable. To the south of the road is the mountain 
of San Pedro, from which, in the rainy seasons, the 
torrents bring down gold-dust. There was a mine 

* Pike, p. 329- This Traveller states the population as high as 

60,000. 

t Probably limestone. 



20 MEXICO. 

here formerly, which was filled up about forty years 
ago through the caving-in of the galleries. At three 
hours' distance from San Luis is the hacienda of 
Laguna Seca, where the travellers halted for the 
night. 

The same clayey soil and bare country continued the 
whole of the next day's journey. In summer, however, 
this arid plain is covered with verdant pastures ; but 
the inhabitants suffer inconvenience from want of wood. 
At this season, (November,) the pools and tanks are 
often covered with ice before day-light ; but, about noon, 
the heat is insufferable, and the change from the cold 
of the morning renders it injurious to travel after that 
hour. The third day, our Traveller reached the village 
of San Isidro, having passed, early in the morning, the 
hacienda of Peotillas, where Mina encamped the 
night before he fought the most brilliant action of the 
whole campaign. The chain of mountains which 
contain the rich mines of Catorce, are distinguishable 
far on the traveller's left. San Isidro stands in a 
narrow valley on the eastern side of a limestone moun- 
tain covered with oaks. At six hours' distance from 
this village is Quelitan, where the fourth day's journey 
terminated, because there was no water within several 
leagues of the place. There are no running streams, 
and the only water is supplied by tanks and wells, 
which are often distant from each other. The whole 
tract, at this season of the year, is transformed into an 
arid desert of drifting sand, and the south-western 
wind is as parching as the sirocco. Nothing can be 
more wretched than the habitations. They are huts 
built of stones and mud, not more than five feet from 
the ground, and thatched with yucca leaves, the earth- 
floors covered with filth, and the walls black with 
smoke, as there is no chimney. " I certainly," says 



MEXICO. 21 

tlie American, u never saw a negro house in Carolina 
so comfortless." The people are very swarthy ; they 
appear healthy and robust, and might enjoy every 
comfort of life. The valley produces good crops of 
maize ; and a species of agave which grows wild in the 
mountains, yields them pulque and brandy, hemp, 
and soap. In the evening, the village-well presented 
a primitive scene : all the girls repaired thither, each 
with a small jar or pitcher on her shoulder, while 
two men were seen drawing water for the cattle. 

The fifth day, the Au'hcr halted at the village of 
La Viga, a counterpart to Quelitan ; and on the next 
day, after passing over the mountains of Norla, 
reached the town of Tula, — " the fit capital of such a 
country, badly built, and so gloomy, that not even the 
crowd of well-dressed peasantry that filled the streets, 
(it was Sunday,) could enliven its appearance. Tula 
was formerly a mission, afterwards a presidio or fron- 
tier fortress, and is now called a town. The houses 
are built of adobes, and it contains about 1,500 inha- 
bitants. The men are well dressed in leather breeches 
and jackets, and most of them have shirts and stock- 
ings, and a manta thrown over their shoulder. The 
women are neatly dressed, and look clean and healthy. 
Their dress consists of a shift, one or more petticoats 
of striped cotton stuff, and a shawl, which they throw 
gracefully over their shoulder, and which they are 
never without when in company. I have seen them 
washing and cooking, very much distressed to manage 
this part of their dress, but persevere in wearing it, 
notwithstanding the inconvenience it put them to." 

Soon after leaving Tula, the whole face of nature 
becomes changed. The traveller descends by a winding 
road into a fertile valley, cultivated with maize, scat- 
tered over with neat farm-houses, and intersected by 



22 MEXICO. 

streams of water. He proceeds through this valley for 
three hours, and then crosses the range of hills which 
enclose it on the east. A fine plain extends from their 
summit, covered with verdure and skirted with woods 
of oak, heyond which the traveller enters on the first 
steep descent from the tahle-land towards the coast. 
The road is here very precipitous, the scenery most 
magnificent, embracing two ranges of mountains 
towards the east, and the vegetation begins to assume 
a new character of luxuriance. It is a descent of 
two hours and a half to tVe plain of Los Gallos. A 
short ride (the next day) brought our Traveller to 
the edge of the mountain of La Contadera, the second 
descent towards the coast, which is still more steep 
and difficult than that of Los Gallos. They had now 
entered the tierra caliente, having passed the dividing 
line where the inhabitants of the table-land begin to 
suffer from the heat, and those of the coast to complain 
of the cold. This day's journey terminated at the vil- 
lage of San Barbara, situated at the extremity of a 
very extensive plain, in the midst of a grove of ever- 
greens. This place is renowned for its manufacture 
of stamped leather for saddle covers and leggings. The 
next day, the travellers descended in succession the 
mountains of Chamal and Cucharras, by very preci- 
pitous tracks, and reached a rancho on the banks of 
the river Limon. Fording this river, the water of 
which came up to the saddle-girths, they soon left be- 
hind all appearance of luxuriant vegetation, and for 
six hours passed over a parched and arid plain. In 
two hours more, after crossing the river Raya de 
Sargento, they reached the poor village of Orcasitas. 
A sterile plain, over which they passed for five hours, 
extends to the miserable rancho of Carizo. Another 
day's journey of seven hours, still over a plain aban- 



MEXICO. 23 

doned to vast herds of cattle, was terminated by 
bivouacking at the edge of a deep wood. The next 
day, the thirteenth from San Luis, a seven hours' 
ride brought them to Altamira. But, " what a place 
to be called Altamira !" is the Author's exclamation. 
" The town consists of a few tolerable houses in 
the square, a church, a collection of thatched cottages, 
and it commands a view of swamps and lagunes." 
Both this place and Tampico are unhealthy, with this 
difference, that here bilious fevers prevail, and there, 
yellow fever. Tampico (Pueblo Viejo)^ which may 
be considered as the port of the great river Tampico, 
or Panuco, is about five leagues from the sea, on the 
margin of a small lake : it is ill built, dirty, and 
unhealthy, and yet, it is a place of some trade. 
Here the American Traveller embarked for the Ha- 
vannah. 

INTERIOR EASTERN PROVINCES. 

The intendancy of San Luis Potosi, under the vice- 
regal government, comprehended the whole of the 
north-eastern part of the kingdom, including a sur- 
face of 27,800 square leagues, (larger than that of all 
Spain,) but with a population not exceeding 334,900, 
or twelve inhabitants to a square league. It had 
upwards of 230 leagues of coast, an extent equal 
to the whole line of coast from Genoa to Heggio 
in Calabria ; but the whole of this coast remained 
without commerce and without activity. The inten- 
dant had under his administration, 1. the province 
of San Luis, extending from the river Panuco to 
the river Santander ; 2. the new kingdom of Leon 
and the colony of New Santander, in the vice-royalty 
of Mexico ; and 3. the provinces of Cohahuila and 
Texas, which belonged to the captain -generalship 
of the east. " But this immense country," says 



24 MEXICO. 

Humboldt, " gifted by nature with the most precious 
productions, and situated under a serene sky, in 
the temperate zone towards the borders of the tropic, 
is, for the most part, a wild desert, still more thinly 
peopled than the governments of Asiatic Russia." 
The northern limits of the intendancy are indeter- 
minate. On the north-west, the mountainous tract 
called the Bolson de Mapvmi, including more than 
3000 square leagues, is in the possession of wandering 
and independent Indians, called Apaches , who occa- 
sionally make incursions to attack the colonists of 
Cohahuila and Durango. On the north-east, the 
provinces of New Santander and Texas border on (the 
latter, in fact, chiefly consists of) disputed territory. 

That part of the coast which extends along the Gulf 
of Mexico, from the mouth of the great Rio del Norte 
to the Rio Sabina, is still almost unknown, having never 
been explored by navigators. According to Humboldt, 
the eastern coast of Mexico presents everywhere similar 
obstacles, — " a want of depth for vessels drawing more 
than twelve feet and a half, bars at the mouths of the 
rivers, necks of land, and long islets stretching in a di- 
rection parallel to the continent, which prevent all ac- 
cess to the interior basin. * The shores of Santander 
and Texas, from the twenty-first to the twenty-ninth 
parallel, are singularly festooned, and present a suc- 
cession of interior basins (or salt-water lakes) from 
four to five leagues in breadth, and from forty to fifty 
in length. Some of them (the laguna de Tamiagua, 

* The harbour at the mouth of the Rio del Norte, however, said 
to be the best on the coast , has never less than thirteen feet water 
at its entrance, and as the tide here sometimes rises three feet, it 
might admit vessels of 400 tons. It is defended from the prevailing 
storms by the island Malahuitas. The river is navigable forty 
leagues up, and might be made so, with very little exertion, thirty 
leagues higher. Such was the statement made by D. Miguel 
llamas de Arispe to the Cortes at Cadiz. 



MEXICO. 25 

for example) are completely shut in. Others (as the 
laguna Madre and the laguna de San Bernardo) 
communicate by several channels with the ocean. 
The latter are of great advantage for a coasting trade, 
as coasting vessels are there secure from the great 
swells of the ocean." There can be little doubt that 
these long and narrow islets are, as the learned 
Traveller conjectures, bars or shoals, which have 
gradually risen above the mean level of the water ; 
and that the Mexican coast resembles, in this respect, 
the shores of Rio Grande do Sul, in Brazil. The port 
of Tampico, however, although the bar prevents 
the entry of vessels drawing more than twenty feet 
water,* would still be preferable, Humboldt thinks, to 
the dangerous anchorage among the shallows of Vera 
Cruz ; and the climate, though unhealthy, has not 
hitherto proved so prejudicial to the health of Euro- 
peans, or of the inhabitants of the table-land, as the 
more southern port. A project was at one time 
entertained for cutting a navigable canal from the 
capital to Tampico. This would not be impracticable, 
notwithstanding that the waters of the lake of Tez- 
cuco are upwards of 7500 feet above the sea ; but, 
as it would require at least 200 locks, it would not, in 
the opinion of this Author, be advisable, land carriage 
under such circumstances being preferable. It has 
already been mentioned, that Tampico was one of the 
four places thought of as a port for the commerce of the 
capital, instead of Vera Cruz. Were the road ren- 
dered more practicable, it might, perhaps, attract 

* The Author of Notes on Mexico says, that the narrow channel 
admits only vessels of eight feet draught. The bar, in blowing 
weather, he says, is very dangerous ; a heavy sea rolls on it. The 
road-stead is open, and during the prevalence of north-western 
gales, no ship can approach the land. 



26 MEXICO. 

a portion of the trade. At present, it is visited 
chiefly by small vessels from the West Indies, which 
come here to lay in provisions. 

Sotto la Marina, near the bar of the river Santan- 
der, in lat. 23° 45' N., would seem to be by far 
too distant from the capital to answer the purpose of a 
port for its commerce ; and indeed, according to 
Mr. Robinson's description of it, it is less accessible 
than Tampico. " The mouth of the river Santander," 
he says, " is very narrow, and has a bar across it, 
over which vessels drawing more than six feet water 
cannot be carried. Near the beach, the country 
is intersected by shallow ponds, extending a long way 
to the northward. After passing the bar, the river 
suddenly widens, but afterwards gradually contracts 
itself towards the town of Sotto la Marina. It is 
navigable for such vessels as can pass the bar, to 
within a very short distance of the town, beyond 
which it is too shallow even for boats. The village 
{pueblo) of Sotto la Marina stands upon an elevated 
situation, on the left bank of the river, eighteen 
leagues from its mouth. The old settlement is but a 
short distance up the river, on the road to the present 
village."* Could the port be remedied, however, 
this place would rise into importance, and would soon 
attract a large portion of the commerce of San Luis 
Potosi, Zacatecas, and Durango. It was here that 
Mina disembarked his troops ; here too, Iturbide, by 
a striking coincidence, landed, to meet a similar 
fate, -f 

At present, Humboldt says, the province of New 
Santander is so desert, that fertile districts of ten 
or twelve square leagues were sold there in 1802 

* Robinson's Memoirs, vol. i. p. 140. t See vol. i. pp. 110, 157. 



MEXICO. 27 

for ten or twelve francs. Major Pike estimates the 
population of this province, which extends 500 miles 
from north to south, and is about 150 in breadth, 
at 38,000 souls. The whole of the northern part 
of the intendancy of San Luis, that is to say, San- 
tander, New Leon, Cohahuila, and Texas, are very 
low regions, with little undulation of surface. The 
soil is covered with secondary and alluvial formations. 
The climate is unequal, extremely hot in summer, 
and equally cold in winter, when the north winds 
prevail. 

That which bears the pompous title of the new 
kingdom of Leon, is not above 250 miles in length ; 
its population is estimated at 30,000 souls. Its capi- 
tal, Montelrey, situated on the head waters of the 
Rio Tigre, in lat. 26° N. and long. 102° W., is 
the seat of a bishop, whose diocese extends over 
Santander, Leon, Cohahuila, and Texas.* The 
population of the city is said to amount to 11,000, 
or more than a third of the whole province. Major 
Pike says : " There are many and rich mines near 
this city, whence, I am informed, are taken one hun- 
dred mules' loads of bullion monthly, which may 
be presumed to be not more than three -fifths of 
what is drawn from the mines, there being many 
persons who prefer never getting their metal coined." 
The only other towns are Linares, between the Rio 
Tigre and the great Rio Bravo del Norte ; and Saltelo, 
where there is held an annual fair, at which an 
immense quantity of merchandise is disposed of. 

The province of Cohahuila (written by Major Pike, 
Cogquilla), lies between lat. 23° and 31° 30' N. and 



* It is afterwards stated, however, by Major Pike, that Coha- 
huila is in the diocese of Durange. 



2S. MEXICO. 

long, 101° and 105° W. ; its greatest length being 
500 miles, and its greatest width 200 miles. Monte* 
lovez (or Monclova), the residence of the governor, is 
the principal military depot for Cohahuila and Texas. 
It is situated on a small stream of water, in lat. 
26° 33' N., long. 103° 30' W. ; it is about a mile in 
length ; has two public squares, seven churches, 
powder magazines, mills, barracks, and an hospital ; 
and contains between 3 and 4000 inhabitants. " This 
city," says Major Pike, " being the stated residence 
of his excellency Governor Cordero, has been orna- 
mented by him with public walks, columns, and 
fountains, and made one of the handsomest cities 
in the internal provinces." * There are some mines 
in the neighbourhood, but they are inconsiderable. At 
Santa Rosa, however, about thirty-eight miles to the 
N.W. of Montelovez, there are silver-mines, said to be 
as rich as any in the kingdom. This town is situated 
on some of the head waters of the river Millada, in a 
very healthy situation ; its population is estimated at 
4,000 souls. Parras, in the same province, situated 
on a small stream, is supposed to contain, with its 
suburbs, 7,000 souls, and San Lorenzo, a village 
three miles to the north, contains about 500. The 
district of Parras is the vineyard of Cohahuila ; the 
name signifies vines or vine-branches ; and the whole 
population are employed in the cultivation of the 
grape. " At the hacienda of San Lorenzo, where we 
halted," says the American Major, " were fifteen 
large stills, and larger cellars, and a greater number 
of casks than I ever saw in any brewery in the 
United States. Its gardens were delightfully inter- 
spersed with figs, vines, apricots, and a variety of 

* Pike's Explor. Travels, p. 362. 



MEXICO. 29 

fruits which are produced in the torrid zone ; with fine 
summer-houses, where were wine, refreshments, and 
couches to repose on, and where the singing of 
the birds was delightful. There were here, likewise, 
mills, and a fine water-fall.'" * The presidio of Rio 
Grande, situated on the river of that name, (the only 
one of magnitude in the province,) contains about 
2,500 inhabitants ; and the total population of Coha- 
huila is estimated at 70,000 souls, not more than 
10,000 of whom are Spaniards. The climate is de- 
scribed as pure and healthy, except about the middle 
of May, when the heat is intense ; u and sometimes a 
scorching wind is felt, like the flame issuing from 
an oven or furnace, which frequently skins the face, 
and affects the eyes. This phenomenon is more 
sensibly felt about sunset, than at any other period of 
the twenty-four hours." This province receives all 
its merchandise from Mexico by land, and, in return, 
gives horses, mules, wines, gold, and silver. The 
large annual fair held at Saltelo, in New Leon, 
is attended by the traders of Cohahuila. The vine is 
the chief article of cultivation, together with grain and 
corn sufficient for home consumption and for the sup- 
ply of the greater part of Texas. 

The capital of Texas, St. Antonio de Bejar, is 
situated on the head waters of the river of that name, 
(Humboldt says, between the Rio de San Antonio and 
the Rio de los Nogales^) in lat. 29° 50' N., and long. 
101° W. " It perhaps contains," Major Pike states, 
" 2,000 souls, most of whom reside in miserable mud- 
wall houses covered with thatch-grass roofs. The 
town is laid out on a very grand plan : to the east of 
it, on the other side of the river, is the station of the 

* Pike's Explor. Travels, p. 362. 



30 MEXICO. 

troops. About two, three, and four miles from 
St. Antonio, are three missions, formerly flourishing 
and prosperous. These buildings, for solidity, accom- 
modation, and even majesty, were surpassed by few 
that I met with in" (the internal provinces of) " New 
Spain.* Nacogdoches is merely a station for troops, 
and contains nearly 500 souls : it is situated on a 
small branch of the river Toyac. The population 
of Texas may be estimated at 7000 : these are princi - 
paliy Spanish Creoles, some French, some Americans, 
and a few civilised Indians and half-breeds. This 
province trades with Mexico by Montelrey and Mon- 
telovez for merchandise, and with New Orleans by 
Natchitoches ; but the latter, being contraband, is 
liable to great damage and risks. They give in 
return, specie, horses, and mules." Being on the 
frontiers, where buffaloes, deer, elk, and wild horses 
abound in great numbers, the inhabitants of Texas 
lead, for the most part, the life of hunters, and agri- 
culture is but little attended to, except by a few 
emigrants from the United States. The only mine 
known and worked, is one of lead. This province is 

* " The resident priest treated us with the greatest hospitality ; 
he is respected and beloved by all who know him. He made 
a singular observation relative to the aborigines, who had formerly 
composed the population of these establishments, under the charge 
of the monks. I asked him what had become of the natives ; he 
replied, that it appeared to him that they could not exist under the 
shadow of the whites, as the nations who formed these missions had 
been nurtured and taken all the care of that was possible, and put 
on the same footing as the Spaniards; yet, they had notwith- 
standing dwindled away, until the other two had become entirely 
depopulated, and the one where he resided, had not more than 
sufficient to perform his household labour. From this he had 
formed an idea, that God never intended them to form one people, 
but that they should always remain distinct and separate!!" — 
Pike, p. 3G8. 



MEXICO. 31 

** well timbered" for one hundred miles from the 
coast, with small prairies interspersed throughout the 
woody country. " Taken generally," says this Tra- 
veller, u it is one of the richest, most prolific, and 
best watered* countries in North America." It 
is also one of the most delightful climates in the 
world, and, where the ground has been sufficiently 
cleared, not unhealthy. It possesses an extensive 
internal navigation ; and, in fact, it is so desirable 
a country, that it is not likely much longer to belong 
to Mexico. According to the representations of the 
congress of Washington, the whole of Texas properly 
belongs to Louisiana. 

In the distribution of Mexico into federal states, 
the internal provinces of the east are already separated 
from San Luis Potosi. Other changes must follow. 
Humboldt, speaking of this vast tract of country, 
remarks, that u its position on the eastern limits 
of New Spain, the proximity of the United States, 
the frequency of communication with the colonists of 
Louisiana, and other circumstances, will probably 
soon favour the progress of civilization and prosperity 
in these vast and fertile regions." 

The only part of the intendancy of San Luis which 
is mountainous, is that which borders on the province 
of Zacatecas. Here are situated the rich mines of 

* The principal rivers are, the river Guadalupe, with its 
confluents, the Rio San Antonio and St. Mark, which discharges 
itself into the N.W. end of the bay of St. Bernard ; the Red River 
(Rio Colorado), which rises in Cohahuila, in lat. 33° N. ; long. 
104° 31)' W., and, after a winding course of 600 miles, discharges 
itself in the bay of St. Bernard ; the river Brasses, which also rises 
in Cohahuila, in lat. 34 Q , long. 105°, and falls into the Gulf of 
Mexico, after a course of 700 miles, — it is the largest river in the 
province; the river Trinity, with its confluents, the Natchez and 
the Angelina, which discharges itself into Galveston bay ; the river 
Toyac ; and the " Sabine river." 

PAUT III, D 



32 MEXICO. 

Charcas, Catorce, and Guadalcazar, which belong 
to the " central groupe" that has yielded so large 
a proportion of the silver of Mexico. u The mineral 
repository of Catorce," says Humboldt, " holds at 
present the second or third rank among the mines of 
New Spain, classing them according to the quantity 
of silver which they produce. It was only discovered 
in the year 1778. This discovery, and that of the 
veins of Gualgayoc in Peru, (vulgarly called the veins 
of Chota,) are the most interesting in the history 
of the mines of Spanish America for the last two cen- 
turies. The small town of Catorce (the true name of 
which is la Purissima Conception de Alamos de 
Catorce), is situated on the calcareous table-land, 
which declines towards the new kingdom of Leon and 
the province of Santander. From the bosom of these 
mountains of secondary compact limestone rise up 
masses of basalt and porous amygdaloid, which 
resemble volcanic productions, and contain olivine, 
zeolite, and obsidian. A great number of veins of 
small extent, and very variable in their breadth 
and direction, traverse the limestone, which itself 
covers a transition clay -slate. The minerals are gene- 
rally found in a state of decomposition. They are 
wrought with the mattock, pick -axe, and bore (poin- 
trole). The consumption of powder is much less 
than at Guanaxuato and at Zacatecas. These mines 
possess also the great advantage of being almost 
entirely dry, so that they have no need of costly 
machinery to draw oif the water.* In 1773, Sebas- 
tian Caronado and Antonio Lianas, two very poor 
individuals, discovered veins in a situation now called 
Cerro de Catorce Viejo, on the western slope of 

* This, it will be seen presently, has proved to be incorrect. 



MEXICO. 33 

the Pichaco de la Variga de Plata. They began to 
work these veins, which were poor and inconstant in 
their produce. In 1778, Don Barnabe Antonio de 
Zepeda, a miner of the Ojo del Agua de Matchuala, 
investigated, during three months, this groupe of arid 
and calcareous mountains. After attentively examin- 
ing the ravines, he was fortunate enough to find 
the crest or surface of the veta grande, on which 
he immediately dug the pit of Guadalupe. He drew 
from it an immense quantity of muriate of silver, and 
color ados mixed with native gold, and gained in a 
short time more than 100,000/. sterling. From that 
period, the mines of Catorce were wrought with 
the greatest activity. That of Padre Flores alone 
produced, in the first year, upwards of 350,000/. ster- 
ling ; but the vein displayed great riches only from 
160 to 320 feet of perpendicular depth. The famous 
mine of Purissima, belonging to Colonel Obregon, has 
scarcely ever ceased since 1788 to yield annually, a net 
profit of 40,000/. sterling ; and its produce in 1796, 
amounted to 1,200,000 piastres, while the working 
did not amount to more than 80,000. The vein 
of Purissima, which is not the same with that 
of Padre Flores, sometimes reaches the extraordinary 
extent of 130 feet ; and it was worked in 1802 to the 
depth of nearly 1,600 feet. Since 1708, the value 
of the minerals of Catorce has singularly diminished : 
the native silver is now rarely to be seen ; and the 
metales colorados, which are an intimate mixture 
of muriate of silver, earthy carbonate of lead, and 
red ochre, begin to give place to pyritous and coppery 
minerals. The actual produce of these mines is nearly 
260,0001b. troy of silver annually."* 

Since the period of Humboldt's visit, however, 
* Pol. Essay, vol. iii. pp. 200—12. 



34 MEXICO. 

these rich mines have become filled with water. " In 
order to render them once more productive," we are 
told, u the owners, the family of Obregon, have made 
an arrangement with an English commercial house, by 
Avhich they agree to give up one-half of their right 
and title, on condition of having them freed from 
water. For this purpose, a steam-engine of one hun- 
dred horse power has been brought from England ; 
the greater part of which, after several months' 
labour, is still at the foot of the mountains. It is said, 
thatcoa^ has been discovered not far from this mine."* 

SAN BLAS. 

Mention has already been made, in the description 
of the Baxio, of the Bay of San Bias, in which the 
river Santiago has its outlet. That port, hitherto 
but little known, yet, next to Acapulco, the most im- 
portant on the western coast, bids fair to become of 
considerable consequence. The rich products of Gua- 
naxuato and Guadalaxara can, by means of the San- 
tiago, be most easily transported to the coast ; and 
those provinces can be supplied with Asiatic merchan- 
dise at a cheaper rate by the same route. 

The Conway, commanded by Captain Basil Hall, 
was the first English man-of-war that had ever an- 

* When Mr. Bullock was in Mexico, the whole had safely ar- 
rived, and he heard in connexion with it the following anecdote. 
The engine for draining the mine being drawn one evening to the 
mouth of the shaft, the mine was plumbed, to ascertain the depth 
of water. The same process was repeated the next morning, when, 
from some unknown cause, the water had sunk several feet. The 
natives, who were attracted in vast numbers, exclaimed in astonish- 
ment, that now they were convinced the English were gods, and 
had power to control the metals, since merely drawing the engine 
to the mouth of the mine had caused the water to sink so many 
feet ! The English house alluded to is that of Messrs. Gordon 
and Murphy. 



MEXICO. 35 

cliored in the port of San Bias. Although the distance 
from Acapulco is not more than 500 miles, it took 
sixteen days to make the passage. * The town is 
perched, like an eagle's nest, on the top of a rock 
150 feet high, absolutely precipitous on three sides, and 
very steep on the fourth ; rising out of a low, swampy 
plain, which, in the rainy season, is laid completely 
under water, and is overflowed to a considerable ex- 
tent by the sea at spring-tides. The fine season lasts 
from December to May inclusive. " During that in- 
terval," says Capt. Hall, " the sky is always clear ; 
no rain falls ; land and sea-breezes prevail ; and, as 
there is then no sickness, the town is crowded with 
inhabitants. From June to November, a very dif- 
ferent order of things takes place. The heat is greatly 
increased ; the sky becomes overcast ; the sea and 
land-breezes no longer blow ; but, in their stead, hard 
storms sweep along the coast, and excessive rains de- 
luge the country ; with occasional violent squalls of 
wind, accompanied by thunder and lightning. During 
this period, San Bias is rendered uninhabitable, in 
consequence of the sickness, and of the violence of 
the rain ; which not only drenches the whole town, 
but, by flooding the surrounding country, renders the 
rock on which the town is built, literally an island. 
The whole rainy season, indeed, is sickly, but more 

* This was reckoned a good passage for the month of March. 
In the latter days of December, it has been made in ten days. 
Capt. Hail mentions a case in which a merchant brig was a fort- 
night in reaching Cape Corrientes from the time of passing Aca- 
Xmlco at the distance of 150 miles, and nearly three weeks after- 
wards in getting to San Bias, a distance of only 70 miles. The 
coast between Cape Corrientes, and San Bias is full of deep and 
dangerous rocky bights, is little known, and ought not to be ap- 
proached. Cape Corrientes is in lat. 20° 24' 32" N. ; long. 105° 
42' 26" W. San Bias is in lat. 21° 32' 24"; long. 10o° 18' 27" W. 
D 2 



36 MEXICO. 

especially so towards the end, when the rains become 
less violent and less frequent ; while the intense heat 
acts w r ith mischievous effect on the saturated soil, and 
raises an atmosphere of malaria, such as the most 
seasoned native cannot breathe with impunity. 

" This being invariably the state of the climate, 
nearly all the inhabitants abandon the town as soon 
as the rainy season approaches. As we had often 
heard this migration described, we waited, with some 
curiosity, for the arrival of the appointed time ; and, 
accordingly, towards the end of May, had the satis- 
faction of seeing the great flight commence. I shall 
never forget the singular nature of the scene which 
was presented to us. All the world began to move 
nearly at the same time ; the rich and the poor 
streamed off indiscriminately together. The high 
road to Tepic was covered with horses, loaded mules, 
and foot passengers, winding along the plain on their 
way to the interior. On passing through the streets, 
w r e saw people everywhere fastening up their windows, 
locking their doors, and marching off with the keys, 
leaving the greater part of their property behind 
them, unguarded by any thing but the pestilence of 
the climate. The better classes rode away on horse- 
back, leaving their baggage to follow on mules ; but 
the finances of the greater part of the inhabitants did 
not admit of this; and we saw many interesting family 
groupes, where the very aged and the very young people 
were huddled on mules, already loaded with goods 
and with furniture, while the men and the women, 
and the stouter children, walked by their sides ; — a 
scene from which a painter might have collected in- 
numerable subjects of interest. 

" A city without people is at any time a strange 
and anomalous circumstance ; but it seemed peculiarly 



MEXICO. 3? 

so to us, by our friends leaving us day by day ; till, 
at length, we found ourselves comparatively alone in 
the deserted town. The governor and his family, and 
one or two other officers of government, with a few 
shopkeepers, remained till our departure ; but, with 
these exceptions, the inhabitants had nearly all gone 
before we sailed. There are, it is true, always a few 
people, who, for high pay, agree to watch valuable 
property, and some families so miserably destitute, 
that they absolutely have not the means of removing. 
The population of the town, in the fine season, is 
about 3,000, but the number which remains to brave 
the climate, seldom exceeds 150." 

The commencement of the rains, as witnessed by 
this Traveller, is described with graphic force and 
spirit in the following paragraphs. 

" This day (June 1, 1822) broke with an unwonted 
gloom overshadowing everything : a dense, black haze 
rested like a high wall round the horizon ; while the 
upper sky, so long without a single speck, was stained 
all over with patches of shapeless clouds flying in dif- 
ferent directions. As the sun rose, he was attended 
by vapours and clouds, which concealed him from our 
sight. The sea-wind, which used to begin gently, 
and then gradually increase to a pleasant breeze, came 
on suddenly and with great violence ; so that the 
waves curled and broke into a white sheet of foam as 
far as the eye could reach. The sea looked bleak and 
stormy under the portentous influence of an immense 
mass of dark clouds, rising slowly in the western 
quarter, till they reached nearly to the zenith, where 
they continued suspended like a mantle during the 
whole day. The ships which heretofore had lain mo- 
tionless on the surface of the bay, were now rolling 
and pitching with their cables stretched out to sea- 



38 MEXICO. 

ward ; while the boats that used to skim along from 
the shore to the vessels at anchor, were seen splashing 
through the waves under a reefed sail, or struggling 
hard with their oars to evade the surf, breaking and 
roaring along the coast. The flags that were wont to 
lie idly asleep by the sides of the mast, now stood 
stiffly out in the storm. Innumerable sea-birds con- 
tinued during all the day, wheeling round the rock 
on which the town stood, and screaming as if in terror 
at this sudden change. The dust of six months' hot 
weather, raised into high pyramids, was forced by 
furious gusts of wind into the innermost corners of 
the houses. Long before sunset, it seemed as if the 
day had closed, owing to the darkness caused by the 
dust in the air, and to the sky being overcast in every 
part by unbroken masses of watery clouds. Presently 
lightning was observed amongst the hills, followed 
shortly afterwards by a storm exceeding in violence 
anything I ever met with. During eight hours, de- 
luges of rain never ceased pouring down for a moment : 
the steep streets of the town soon became the channels 
of continued streams of such magnitude, as to sweep 
away large stones ; rendering it everywhere dangerous, 
and in some places quite impossible to pass. The rain 
found its way through the roofs, and drenched every 
part of the houses ; the deep rumbling noise of the 
torrents in the streets never ceased ; the deafening 
loudness of the thunder, which seemed to cling round 
the rock, became distracting ; while the continued 
flashes of the forked lightning, which played in the 
most brilliant mariner from the zenith to the horizon 
on all sides, were at once beautiful and terrific. I 
never witnessed such a night. 

"As the next day broke, the rain ceased ; and 
during all the morning there was a dead calm : the 



MEXICO. 3& 

air was so sultry that it was painful to breathe it ; 
and though the sky remained overcast, the sun had 
power to raise up clouds of steam, which covered the 
whole plain as far as the base of the mountains. 

" No very violent rain fell after this furious burst, 
till the evening of the 4th of June, when the periodical 
wet season set in. During the mornings, it was gene- 
rally clear and fair ; but about half past three or four 
o'clock, the sky became rapidly overcast, and at five 
the rain began : though it was seldom before eight, 
that it fell in the torrents I have described, or that 
the thunder and lightning commenced with great 
violence." 

San Bias would be scarcely habitable during what 
is termed the fine season, were it not for the regular 
alternation of the sea and land-breezes which prevail at 
that time.* " Between ten and eleven o'clock in the 
morning," says Capt. H., " the sea-breeze begins to set 
in. None but those who have felt the bodily and mental 
exhaustion caused by the hot nights and sultry morn- 
ings of low latitudes, can form a just conception of the 
delicious refreshment of this wind. For some time be- 
fore it actually reaches the spot, its approach is felt and 
joyfully hailed by people who, a few minutes before, 
appeared quite subdued by the heat, but who now 
acquire a sudden animation and revival of their facul- 
ties ; a circumstance which strangers, who have not 
learned to discover the approach of the sea-breeze, are 
often at a loss to account for. When it has fairly set 
in, the climate in the shade is delightful ; but, in the 
sun, it is scarcely ever supportable at San Bias. Be- 
tween three and four o'clock, the sea-breeze generally 

* The burning shores of Asia Minor are in like manner pre- 
served from depopulation by a similar phenomenon. — See Moderx 
Travelled, Syria, Sjfc, vol. ii. p. 106. 



40 MEXICO. 

dies away; it rarely lasts till five. The oppression 
during the interval of calm which succeeds between 
this period and the coming of the land-wind, baffles all 
description. The flat-roofed houses, from having been 
all day exposed to the sun, resemble ovens ; and as it 
is many hours before they part with their heat, the 
inhabitants are sadly baked before the land-wind 
comes to their relief. 

" During the morning, the thorough draft of air, 
even when the sun is blazing fiercely in the sky, keeps 
the rooms tolerably cool ; but, when the breeze is gone, 
they become quite suffocating. The evil is heightened 
most seriously by clouds of mosquitoes, and, what are 
still more tormenting, of sand-flies, an animal so 
diminutive, as scarcely to be distinguished till the eye 
is directed to the spot they settle upon, by the pain of 
their formidable puncture. San Bias, as mentioned 
before, is built on the top of a rock, standing in a level, 
swampy plain. During ordinary tides in the dry 
season, this plain is kept merely in a half-dried, 
steaming state ; but at spring-tides, a considerable 
portion of it is overflowed. The effect of this inunda- 
tion is to dislodge from the swamp, myriads of mos- 
quitoes, sand-flies, and other insects, which had been 
increasing and multiplying on the surface of the mud 
during the low tides. These animals, on being dis- 
turbed, fly to the first resting-place they can find ; 
and the unhappy town of San Bias, being the only 
conspicuous object in the neighbourhood, is fairly en- 
veloped, at the full and change of the moon, in a cloud 
of insects, producing a plague, the extent of which, if 
properly described, would scarcely be credited by the 
inhabitants of a cold climate. The most seasoned 
native fared in this instance no better than ourselves ; 
and we sometimes derived a perverse sort of satisfac- 



MEXICO. 41 

tion from this companionship in misery, and laughed 
at seeing them rolling about from chair to chair, 
panting under the heat, and irritated into a fever, by 
the severe and unintermitted attacks of their inde- 
fatigable tormentors. I cannot say which was worst, 
the unceasing buzz and fierce sting of the mosquito, or 
the silent but multiplied assaults of the' sand-flies, 
which came against the face, as I heard a miserable 
man exclaim one evening, like handfuls of sand. 
Mosquito curtains offered no defence against these in- 
visible foes, so that there was nothing for it but to 
submit. It is perhaps worthy of remark, that those 
persons invariably suffered most, who were least tem- 
perate in their diet ; and that the water-drinkers 
(that rare species) were especially exempted from the 
feverish discipline of these attacks. It was perfectly 
out of the question to try to get any sleep before the 
land-wind set ; but this often deceived us, and at best 
seldom came before midnight, and then it blew over 
the hot plain, and reached us loaded with offensive 
vapours from the marsh ; but this was nothing, as it 
served to disperse the sand-flies, and gradually ac- 
quired a degree of coolness, which allowed us to drop 
asleep towards morning — worn out with heat, vexa- 
tion, and impotent rage." 

San Bias was, under the vice-regal administration, 
the residence of the Departimiento de Marina (marine 
department), and the chief dock-yards and magazines 
being here, it might be regarded as the Portsmouth 
of Mexico. The official people, however, Humboldt 
says, resided at Tepic, a small town in a more salu- 
brious climate. Captain Hall, on finding that the mer- 
chants, both English and Spanish, lived, some at 
Tepic, and others at the provincial capital, Guada- 
laxara, determined on proceeding to the former place, 



42 MEXICO. 

in order to ascertain how far he might be able to con- 
tribute to advance the interests of the British trade in 
that quarter. The first part of the journey lay across 
low swamps, covered with brushwood, and enveloped 
(in March) in creeping mists. In the course of w a 
few hours," the road begins to ascend the hills, which 
are richly wooded : festoons of innumerable parasitical 
plants, extending from tree to tree, wave gracefully 
above the impervious underwood, which totally con- 
ceals the ground, giving the forest the appearance of 
an Indian jungle. The traveller passes several villages 
of huts built of canes, with peaked roofs rising to twice 
the height of the walls, thatched with the large, leafy 
branches of the cocoa-palm, fastened down with rat- 
tans. About half way to Tepic is the village of 
Fonsequa. The rest of the journey lies through a 
thick forest, along wild mountain paths, the road con- 
tinually on the ascent ; and to the European, the 
sensible change in the temperature becomes most in- 
spiriting. The mountain scenery is described as 
highly magnificent. Capt. Hall passed the night in a 
hut, and by day -break next morning, after travelling 
over some hills, he came in sight of Tepic, beautifully 
situated in the midst of a cultivated plain. 

TEPIC. 

This town, the second in importance in this in- 
tendancy, is situated nearly in the centre of a basin, 
or valley, formed by an irregular chain of volcanic 
mountains. Its appearance is rendered very lively by 
rows of trees, gardens, and terraced walks intermixed 
with the houses, all kept green and fresh by the 
waters of the river which washes the town on three 
sides. A broad, public walk, nearly half a mile In 



MEXICO. 43 

length, shaded by four or five rows of chesnut -trees, 
leads to the church of La Santa Cruz, which stands 
in a little hollow behind a small grassy knoll, in a 
secluded and picturesque situation. It belongs to a 
convent. Hither, about an hour before sunset, appa- 
rently the whole female population repair, in family 
groupes, to attend the evening service. " The ladies 
of Tepic," Capt. Hall says, u have already learned to 
dress in the European style ; of course some years be- 
hind in the fashion, but without any thing peculiar to 
describe. The women of the lower class wore lively 
coloured gowns, and scarfs called rebozos, generally of 
a blue and white pattern, not printed, but woven. 
The dress of the lowest class was of cotton only ; that 
of the others was a mixture of cotton and silk, and 
that of the richest people entirely of silk ; the whole 
being of the manufacture of the country. The gen- 
tlemen wear low -brimmed, brown hats, encircled by a 
thick gold or silver band, twisted up like a rope. 
When mounted, every gentleman carries a sword, not 
belted round him, as with, us, but thrust, in a slanting 
direction, into a case made for the purpose in the left 
flap of the saddle, so that the sword lies under, not 
over the thigh, while the hilt rises nearly as high as 
the pommel of the saddle, where it is more readily 
grasped, in case of need, than when left dangling by 
the side. The saddle rises abruptly four or five inches, 
both before and behind, in order, as I was told, to 
give the rider support both in going up and down the 
very steep roads of the country. On each side of the 
saddle, before the knees, hangs a large skin of some 
shaggy-coated animal, reaching nearly to the ground : 
in wet weather, these skins are drawn over the rider's 
legs, while what is called the mangas covers the body. 
This is a cloak exactly resembling the poncho of the 

PART III. E 



44 MEXICO. 

south, being of an oblong form, with a hole in the 
middle to receive the head. In Mexico, these cloaks 
are generally made of fine cloth, richly ornamented 
round the neck with gold embroidery. The stirrups 
are made of wood, taken no doubt from the Spanish 
box-stirrup, but they are more neatly made than in 
Spain, and are lighter, and fit the foot better. Every 
gentleman rides with a p%ir of silver spurs of immode- 
rate length and weight ; and, instead of a whip, holds 
in his hand a long and curiously twisted set of thongs, 
which are merely a tapered continuation of the slender 
strips of hide of which the bridle is made, plaited into 
a round cord." 

This sprightly writer gives an amusing description 
of a tertulia, or evening party, which will serve to 
illustrate the state of manners in Mexico at this 
period, among the Spanish residents. 

" Across the upper end of a large room, and for 
some distance along the sides, were seated the ladies, 
about twenty in number, in a compact line, and glued 
as it were to the wall. Sometimes in the course of 
the evening, a gentleman succeeded in obtaining a 
station amongst the ladies, but he was generally an 
intimate acquaintance or a very determined stranger. 
In each corner of the room was placed a small stone 
table, on which stood a dingy tallow -candle, the feeble 
glimmer of which gave a dismal light to the room ; 
but, by an incongruity characteristic of the country, 
the candlestick was large and handsome, and made of 
massy silver. Behind the light, in a glass case, was 
displayed an image of the Virgin, dressed up as 
Nuestra Senora de Guadaloupe, the patron saint of 
Mexico, almost suffocated with a profusion of tawdry 
artificial flowers. The line of ladies on one side 
reached to the door, and, on the side opposite, to a 



MEXICO. 45 

table about half-way along the room, on which" were 
placed wine and water, gentlemen's hats and ladies' 
shawls. Against one of the corner tables rested a 
guitar ; and it seldom happened that there was not 
some person present, re^dy to play a popular tune, or 
to accompany the ladies, many of whom sung very 
prettily. This occasional music went on without in- 
terrupting the conversation ; *indeed, the sound of the 
guitar amongst the Spaniards or their descendants, is 
so familiar, that it acts more as a stimulus, a sort of 
accompaniment to conversation, than as an interrup- 
tion. At the further end of the room was a card- 
table, where most of the gentlemen played at a game 
called montL The space in the middle of the room 
seemed to be allotted as a play -ground for the children 
of the house, and those of many removes in consan- 
guinity. The nurses too, and the old servants of the 
family, used the privilege of walking in and out ; and 
sometimes they addressed such of the company as hap- 
pened to be seated near the door. It may be remarked 
here, that, in all those countries, a degree of familiarity 
is allowed between the servants and their superiors, 
of which in England there is no example in any rank 
of life. 

u The entrance to the room was from a deep veran- 
dah, or, more properly speaking, a passage open to 
the court and flower-garden in the centre of the qua- 
drangle forming the house. 

" It occurred to me during the evening, that if a 
person were suddenly transported from England to this 
party, he might be much puzzled to say where he had 
got to. On entering the house, by an approach not 
unlike the arched gateway of an inn, he would turn 
into the verandah, where he would in vain inquire 
his way from one of the boys playing- at bo-peep round 



46 MEXICO. 

the columns, or scampering in the moon -light amongst 
the shrubs in the centre of the court ; nor would he 
gain more information from the girls, who would 
draw up and become as prim and starch as possible 
the moment they beheld a stranger ; they would pout 
at him, and transfix him with their coal-black eyes, 
but would not utter a single word. Mustering cou- 
rage, he might enter the sala or drawing-room ; in an 
instant, all the gentlemen would rise and stand before 
their chairs like statues ; but as neither the mistress 
of the house, nor any other lady, ever thinks of rising, 
in those countries, to receive or take leave of a gentle- 
man, our friend would be apt to conceive his reception 
somewhat cold. He could have no time to make 
minute remarks, and would scarcely notice the un- 
evenly paved brick floor — the bare plastered walls—*, 
the naked beams of the roof, through which the tiles 
might be counted : indeed, the feebleness of the light 
would greatly perplex his observations. The elegant 
dresses, the handsome looks, and the lady-like appear- 
ance of the women, would naturally lead him to ima- 
gine he was in respectable company ; but, when he 
discovered all the ladies smoking segars, and heard 
them laughing most obstreperously, and screaming out 
their observations at the top of their voices, he would 
relapse into his former doubts ; especially when he 
remarked the gentlemen in boots and cloaks, and some 
with their hats on. Neither would his ideas be cleared 
up by seeing the party at the other end of the room 
engaged in deep play, amidst a cloud of tobacco smoke. 
And were he now as suddenly transported back again 
to his own country, it might be difficult to persuade 
him that he had been amongst an agreeable, amiable, 
and well-bred people — in the very best society — in 
the Grosvenor Square, in short, of the city of Tepic V* 



MEXICO. 47 

The Indians here appeared to Captain Hall a small 
and feeble race of men* He saw a party of them who 
had come from the interior to purchase maize and 
other articles. u Each of them carried a bow, and 
about two dozen of arrows, and wore in his girdle 
a long, broad knife. Their dress was a coarse cotton 
shirt, made of cloth manufactured by themselves, and 
a pair of leather small-clothes, loose at the knees, and 
fringed with a line of tassels, and short strips of 
leather, each being intended to represent some article 
belonging to the wearer : one being his horse, another 
his bow, another larger and more ornamental standing 
for his wife, and so on. The most striking cir- 
cumstance, however, was, that all these Indians wore 
feathers round their heads, precisely in the manner 
represented in the cuts which embellish the old 
accounts of the conquest. Some had tied round their 
straw hats a circle of red flowers, so much resembling 
feathers, that it was not easy to distinguish between 
the two. Several of them wore necklaces of white 
beads made of bone, the distinctive mark, as we 
were told, of being married. A little old man of 
the party, who seemed much entertained by our 
curiosity, begged our attention to a rod about two 
feet long, which he carried in his hand, and to the 
skin of a little bird of brilliant plumage, suspended at 
his left knee ; these two symbols, he gave us to under- 
stand, belonged to him as chief of the village. The 
only woman of the party stood apart, wrapped in a 
coarse kind of blanket, holding the bridles of the 
mules. At first, they were rather alarmed at the 
interest we took in their dress and appearance, and, 
as they did not understand Spanish, shrunk back 
from us. But an obliging person in the market- 
place stepped forward to act as interpreter, which 



48 MEXICO. 

soon reassured them, and they came round us after- 
wards with confidence ; yet, it was with great reluc- 
tance they parted with their bows and arrows, and 
their feathered ornaments. The old man could not 
be prevailed upon to part with his rod of authority, 
or his official bird ; neither could we induce them 
to sell, at any price, that part of their dress to which 
the inventory of their goods and chattels was ap- 
pended. 1 ' 

These appear to have been a party of cacique 
Indians ; but to what tribe they belonged, is not 
stated. Their bows and arrows resembled, we are 
told, those of school -boys, rather than the arms of 
men. At Tepic, as well as at San Bias, our Traveller 
found it disagreeably hot during the day ; * but at 
night, the thermometer fell from fifteen to twenty 
degrees. During the middle of the day, no one can 
stir abroad. One o'clock is the invariable dinner 
hour, and from two to half -past three or four, u all 
the world" are taking their siesta, and the streets are 
literally deserted. After that hour, riding or walking 
parties are formed ; and in the evening, every house 
is ready to receive visiters. The ladies receive com- 
pany also about ten o'clock in the forenoon, either in 
the principal bed-chamber, or in the sola. 

Captain Hall, while at Tepic, witnessed the opening 
of a Mexican bee-hive, which differs so essentially 
in its construction and materials from that of the 
English bee, that the description is highly acceptable. 
M The hive is generally made out of a log of wood 
from two to three feet long, and eight or ten inches in 

* At San Bias, throughout the day, it was generally, in the 
coolest part of the shade, about 90° ; sometimes, for several hours, 
95°. At night, the thermometer stood generally between 80° 
and 85°. 



MEXICO; 49 

diameter, hollowed out, and closed at the ends by 
circular doors, cemented closely to the wood, but 
capable of being removed at pleasure. Some persons 
use cylindrical hives made of ear then ware, instead 
of the clumsy apparatus of wood ; these are relieved 
by raised figures and circular rings, so as to form 
rather handsome ornaments in the verandah of a 
house, where they are suspended by cords from the 
roof, in the same manner that the wooden ones in the 
villages are hung to the eaves of the cottages. On 
one side of the hive, half-way between the ends, there 
is a small hole made, just large enough for a loaded 
bee to enter, and shaded by a projection to prevent 
the rain from trickling in. In this hole, generally 
representing the mouth of a man, or some monster, 
the head of which is moulded in the clay of the 
hive, a bee is constantly stationed ; whose office is no 
sinecure, for the hole is so small, he has to draw back 
every time a bee wishes to enter or to leave the hive. 
A gentleman told me, that the experiment had been 
made, by marking the sentinel ; when it was observed, 
that the same bee continued at his post a whole day. 
When it is ascertained by the weight, that the hive is 
full, the end pieces ar3 removed, and the honey 
withdrawn. The hive we saw opened, was only 
partly filled ; which enabled us to see the economy 
of the interior to more advantage. The honey is 
not contained in the elegant hexagonal cells of our 
hives, but in wax bags, not quite so large as an egg. 
These bags, or bladders, are hung round the sides 
of the hive, and' appear about half full, the quantity 
being probably just as great as the strength of the 
wax will bear without tearing. Those near the 
bottom, being better supported, are more filled than 
the upper ones. In the centre of the lower part 



50 MEXICO. 

of the hive, we observed an irregular-shaped mass 
of comb, furnished with cells, like those of our bees, 
all containing young ones, in such an advanced state, 
that when we broke the comb and let them out, they 
flew merrily away. During this examination of the 
hive, the comb and the honey were taken out, and the 
bees disturbed in every way ; but they never stung 
us, though our faces and hands were covered with 
them. It is said, however, that there is a bee in the 
country which does sting ; but the kind we saw, seem 
to have neither the power nor the inclination, for 
they certainly did not hurt us ; and our friends said, 
they were always c muy manso,' very tame, and 
never stung any one. The honey gave out a ricli 
aromatic perfume, and tasted differently from ours, 
but possessed an agreeable flavour." * 

Humboldt mentions the mines of Guichichila, near 
Tepic, as among the most celebrated in this inten- 
dancy ; but Captain Hall does not appear to have 
made any inquiry on the subject. 

GUADALAXARA. 

The intendancy of Guadalaxara formed, together 
with Zacatecas, the kingdom of New Gallicia. It is, 
in itself, almost twice the extent of Portugal, with 
a population five times smaller. The number of 
inhabitants in 1803, was 630,500, being 66 to the 
square league. It is bounded, on the north by Sonora 
and Durango ; on the east, by Zacatecas and Guanax- 

* Humboldt mentions a bee peculiar to the New Continent, said 
to be destitute of a sting, on which account they have received the 
name of angelitos (little angels). The learned Traveller supposes, 
however, that the organ L not wanting, but that the sting is weak 
and not very sensible. 



MEXICO. 51 

uato ; on the south, by Valladolid ; and on the west, 
for a length of coast of 123 leagues, by the Pacific. 
Its extreme breadth, from San Bias to the town of 
Lagos, is 100 leagues, and its. extent of surface is com- 
puted to be 9,612 square leagues. It is traversed 
from east to west by the Rio Grande de Santiago, 
which communicates with the great lake of Chapala, 
nearly 160 square leagues in extent, being double the 
size of the lake of Constance. This intendancy was 
reckoned one of the richest and most luxuriant in the 
vice-royalty. All the eastern part is formed by the 
tableland and western declivity of the Cordillera. 
The maritime regions are covered with forests, which 
abound with timber fit for ship -building. The interior 
enjoys a fine and temperate climate. The value of 
its agricultural produce amounted, in 1802, to 
2,600,000 piasters (about 560,000/.); and its manu- 
factures of woollens, calicoes, tanned hides, and soap, 
were estimated at 3,302,200 piasters (about 700,000/.), 
or nearly half of the total value of the manufactures 
of New Spain.* Up to 1765, it exported cotton and 
wool to maintain the activity of the manufactures 
of Puebla, Queretaro, and San Miguel ; but since 
that period, manufactories have been established at 
Guadalaxara, Lagos, and the neighbouring towns. 
Its mines form the sixth groupe in Humboldt's 
enumeration,-)- but, with regard to the quantity of 
money actually drawn from them, the mines of 
Bolanos rank next to those of the Real del Monte, 
. the central groupe of Guanaxuato, Catorce, and Zaca- 
tecas being alone superior to either. The mines 



* This is estimated by Humboldt at between 7 and 8,000,000 of 
piasters.— Pol. Essay, vol. iii. p. 460. 
t See vol. i. p. 318. 

E 2 



52 MEXICO. 

of Guadalaxara extend from lat. 21° 5' to 22° 30' N., 
and from long. 105° to 106° 30' W. The most cele- 
brated are those of Bolanos, Asientos de Ibarra, Kos- 
tiotipaquillo, Copala, and Guichichila. The intend- 
ancy contains two cities, six towns, and 322 vil- 
lages. 

Ouadalaxara, the provincial capital, and formerly 
the seat of the audiencia of New Gallicia, is seated on 
the left bank of the Rio de Santiago, in lat. 20° 50' N., 
long. 105° W.* It was founded in 1551, and in 
1570, was created an episcopal city, the see of Com- 
postella being transferred to this place. As the resi- 
dence at once of the audiencia, the intendant, and the 
•bishop, and possessing some nourishing manufactures, 
it would seem likely to have been from the first a con- 
siderable place ; yet, Humboldt states the population 
in 1803, at only 19,500. If this be correct, its in- 
crease since that period must have been almost unpre- 
cedented. While the population of Guanaxuato has 
sunk from 70,000 to 33,000, that of Guadalaxara has 
risen from less than 20,000 to at least 70,000, and it 
now ranks, in point of population, as the second city 
in the empire.*. 

Compostella, situated to the south of Tepic, is the 
more ancient city. As, in the district to the north- 
west of this place, tobacco of a superior quality was 
formerly cultivated ; it would seem to be situated 
either within, or on the border of the tierra caliente 
of the western coast. The other towns enumerated 
by Humboldt are, Aguas Calientes, a small, well- 
peopled town, to the south of the mines of Asientos de 
Ibarra ; Villa de la Purification, to the north-west of 

* Pike's Exploratory Travels, p. 326. 

t Notes on Mexico, p. 110. Major Pike carries the estimate to 
75,000. 



MEXICO. 53 

the port of Guatian ; Lagos, to the north of the town 
of Leon, in Guanaxuato, near the frontier of that 
intendancy, u on a plain fertile in wheat" (a part 
of the Baxio) ; and Colima, situated two leagues south 
of the volcano of the same name. 

The volcan de Colima is the most western of the 
volcanoes of Mexico, which are placed on the same 
line in a parallel direction. It frequently throws up 
ashes and smoke. Its elevation is computed to be 
upwards of 9,000 feet above the level of the sea. 
" This insulated mountain," says a native writer 
cited by Humboldt, " appears of only a moderate 
height, when its summit is compared with the ground 
on which Zapotilti and Zapotlan are built, — twq 
villages elevated 5,500 feet above the level of the 
coast : it is from the small town of Colima that 
the volcano appears in all its grandeur. It is never 
covered with snow, except when it falls in the chain 
of the neighbouring mountains from the effects of the 
north-wind. On the 8th of December, 1788, the 
volcano was covered with snow for almost two-thirds 
of its height ; but this snow remained for only 
two months on the northern declivity of the mountain 
towards Zapotlan. In the beginning of 1791, I made 
the tour of the volcano by Sayula, Tuspan, and 
Colima, without seeing the smallest trace of snow 
on its summits." 

Such is all the information to which we have at 
present access respecting this important province. 
Neither Humboldt nor any other modern traveller 
appears to have visited any part of it, except the 
small portion between San Bias and Tepic. The 
capital, the fertile banks of the Santiago, the lake 
Chapala, the mines of Bolafios, the hot springs of 
Aguas Calientes, and the volcano of Colima, — all 



54 MEXICO. 

remain undescribed, and invite the attention of future 

travellers We have still less information with regard 

to the north-eastern portion of New Gallicia, now 
comprised in the intendancy of 

ZACATECAS. 

" This singularly ill-peopled province," says our 
only authority in the present reference, the indefati- 
gable Humboldt, " is a mountainous and arid tract, 
exposed to a continual inclemency of climate. It is 
bounded, on the north, by the intendancy of Du- 
rango ; on the east, by San Luis Potosi ; on the south, 
by Guanaxuato ; and on the west, by Guadalaxara. 
Its greatest length is eighty-five leagues, and its 
extreme breadth, from Sombrerete to the Real de 
Ramos, fifty-one leagues ; being nearly of the same 
extent with Switzerland, which it resembles in many 
geological points of view. The relative population is 
hardly equal to that of Sweden." The extent of 
surface is computed to be 2,355 square leagues ; the 
population in 1803, was 153,300, or sixty-five only to 
the square league. The table -land which forms the 
centre of the intendancy, and which rises to an eleva- 
tion of upwards of 6,500 feet, is formed of syenite, on 
which repose strata of primitive schistus and schistous 
chlorites ; the schistus forms the base of the moun- 
tains of trappish porphyry. Zacatecas, the provincial 
capital, is, next to Guanaxuato, the most celebrated 
mining-place in New Spain.* Its population is stated 
by Humboldt to be at least 33,000. The mines of 
Zacatecas belong to the same groupe as those of 

* Situated, according to Major Pike, in lat. 23° N. ; long. 
104° W. This Traveller estimates the population much higher, 
but, unfortunately, he does not give his authority. 



MEXICO. 55 

Guanaxuato and Catorce. The intendancy is divided 
into four diputaciones de mineria, or mining districts : 
I. Zacatecas ; 2. Sombrerete; 3. Fresnilio; 4. Sierra 
de Pinos. The veta negra of Sombrerete has yielded 
the greatest wealth of any seam yet discovered in the 
two hemispheres. To the north of the town of Zaca- 
tecas, there are nine small lakes, abounding in muriate 
and carbonate of soda. The carbonate, which goes by 
the name of tequesquite (corrupted from the Mexican 
word teqmocquilit), is of great use in the dissolving of 
the muriates and sulphurets of silver. " The central 
table-land of Asia," adds M. Humboldt, " is not 
richer in soda than Mexico." 

To the north of the two intendancies formerly com- 
prised in New Gallicia, lies the province of New 
Biscay, which, under the distribution of the country 
into intendancies, is called from its chief town, 

DURANGO. 

This intendancy, which, together with Sonora and 
New Mexico, formed the captaincy of the interior 
provinces of the west, extends, according to Humboldt, 
from lat. 23° 55' to 29° 5' N., and from long. 104° 40' 
to 110° (V W.* It is bounded, on the west, by Sonora ; 
on the south-east, it touches on San Luis Potosi ; but 
towards the north and east, for upwards of 200 leagues, 
it borders on an uncultivated country, inhabited by war- 
like and independent Indians. It comprehends the 
northern extremity of the great table-land of Ana- 
huac. Its length from north to south, from the cele- 

* Major Pike makes New Biscay to lie between lat. 24° and 33°, 
and long. 105° and 111**: he states its length from N.W. to S.E. 
at 600 miles ; its greatest breadth at 400 ; and its population at 
200,000. 



56 MEXICO. 

brated mines of Guarisamey to the mountains of 
Careay, is 232 leagues : its breadth is very unequal, 
and, near Parral, is scarcely fifty-eight leagues. 
Its extent of surface is greater than that of the 
three united kingdoms of Great Britain, and yet, 
its total population does not equal that of Bir- 
mingham and Manchester united. The number of 
inhabitants in 1803, was computed to be rather less 
than 160,000. Of these, Major Pike thinks, three - 
twentieths might be European Whites, five-twentieths 
Creoles, five -twentieths Mestizoes and half-castes, and 
seven-twentieths Indians. It comprises, besides the 
city of Durango, six towns (villas) ; 199 villages 
(pueblos) ; 75 parishes (paroquias) ; 152 haciendas ; 
37 missions ; and 400 cottages (ranchos). 

Durango, or Guadiana, the principal city, is the 
residence of the intendant and of a bishop. It is 
situated in the most southern part of the province, 
(in lat. 25° N., and long. 107° W.)* at 170 leagues 
distance, in a straight line, from the city of Mexico, 
and 289 leagues from the town of Santa Fe, in 
New Mexico. The elevation of the town above the 
sea-level, is 6,800 feet ; there are frequent falls 
of snow, and the thermometer descends to 14° 
Fahrenheit below the freezing point. The city was 
founded in 1559 : the population in 1803, was 
12,000-f 

* Pike, p. 352. 

t Major Pike says, 40,000. He states, also, that the city is 
infested, in a very remarkable manner, by scorpions. " They come 
out of the walls and crevices in May, and continue for about a 
fortnight in such numbers, that the inhabitants never walk 
in their houses after dark without a light, and always shift or 
examine the bed-clothes, and beat the curtains, previously to 
going to rest ; after which, the curtains are secured under the bed. 



MEXICO. 57 

In the midst of a very level plain, between this city, 
the plantations del Ojo and del Chorro* and the town of 
JVambre de Dlos. which lies in the road to the famous 
mines of Sonibrerete, — there rises a singular gronpe of 
rocks, of a very grotesque form, covered with scoria, 
called la Brena : they extend twelve leagues from 
north to south, and six from east to west, and appear 
to be a volcanic production, consisting of basaltic 
amygdaloid. On the summit of one of the neigh- 
bouring mountains (the Frayle), is found a crater 
above 300 feet in circumference and 100 feet in per- 
pendicular depth. In the environs of Durango, there 
is also to be found, insulated in the plain, an enormous 
mass of malleable iron and nickel, said to weigh up- 
wards of 40,000 lb. avoirdupois, and corresponding, in 
its composition, to the ai'rolithos which fell, in 1751, 
near Agram in Hungary.* Major Pike mentions " a 
mountain or hill of loadstone," about 100 miles south 
of Chihuahua, which had been surveyed by a friend 
of his ; referring, probably, to the same phenomenon. 
. Chihuahua, the residence of the captain-general of the 
western interior provinces, was founded in 1691, and is 
situated in lat. 29° Ni ; long. 107° 30' W. Its popu- 
lation is estimated by Humboldt at 11.600 ; by Major 
Pike at 7^000. The town is thus described by the 
latter Traveller : " It is of an oblong rectangular 

The precautions are similar io those we take with our moschetto 
curtains. The bite of these scorpions has been known to prove 
mortal in two hours. But the most extraordinary circumstance 
is, that, by taking them ten leagues from Durango, they become 
perfectly harmless, and lose all their venomous qualities. Query , 
does this arise from a change of air or of sustenance ?" The reader 
will probably be of opinion, that there is a previous query which 
requires to be disposed of. Yet, as Mexico has its stingless bees, 
it may possibly have its impotent scorpions. 
* Humboldt, Pol. Essay, vol. ii. p. 245. 



58 MEXICO. 

form, on the eastern side of a small stream, which dis- 
charges itself into the river Conchos. At its southern 
extremity is a small but elegant church. In the pub- 
lic square stands the church, the royal treasury, the 
town-house, and the richest shops. At the western 
extremity, there is another church for the military, 
a superb hospital, belonging formerly to the Jesuits, 
the churches of the monks of St. Francis and St. Do- 
minick, the military academy, and the barracks 
{quartet del tropa). On the north-west are two or 
three missions, very handsomely situated on a small 
stream which comes in from the west. About one 
mile to the south of the town is a large aqueduct, 
which conveys the water round it, to the east, into 
the main stream below the town, at the centre of 
which is a reservoir, whence the water is conducted 
by pipes to the different parts of the city ; and in the 
public square is to be a fountain and jet d'eau. The 
principal church is the most superb building we saw 
in New Spain ; its whole front being covered with 
statues of the apostles and the different saints, set in 
niches, and the windows, doors, &c. ornamented with 
sculpture. I was never within the doors, but was 
informed that the decorations are immensely rich. 
Some men whom we supposed to be entitled to credit, 
informed us, that the church was built by a tax of 12£ 
cents laid on each ingot of gold or silver taken out of 
the mines in the vicinity. Its cost, including the 
decorations, was 1,500,000 dollars; and when it was 
finished, there remained 300,000 dollars of the fund 
unappropriated. On the south side of Chihuahua 
is the public walk, formed by three rows of trees, 
whose branches nearly meet over the heads of the 
passengers. At different distances there are seat*, 
and, at each end of the walk, circular seats, on which, 



MEXICO. 59 

in the evening, the company collected and amused 
themselves with the guitar, and songs in Spanish, 
Italian, and French, adapted to the voluptuous man- 
ners of the country. In this city, as well as in all 
others of any consideration, there are patroles of sol- 
diers during the night, who stop every person at nine 
o'clock, and examine them. My countersign was, 
Americans, 

" There are at Chihuahua and its vicinity, fifteen 
mines ; thirteen of silver, one of gold, and one of cop- 
per ; the furnaces for all of which are situated round 
the town, in the suburbs, and present, except on 
Sundays, volumes of smoke rising in every direction, 
which are seen from a distance long before the spires 
of the city strike the view. It is incredible, the quan- 
tity of cinders that surround the city, in piles ten or 
fifteen feet high. Next the creek, they have formed 
a bank of them, to check the encroachments of the 
stream, and it has presented an effectual barrier. I 
am told, that a European employed some hands, and 
wrought at the cinders, and that they yielded 1 dollar 
25 cents for each per day ; but this not answering his 
expectations, he ceased his proceedings. At Mauperne, 
there are one gold and seven silver mines."* 

The mines of Chihuahua lie to the east of the great 
real of Santa Rosa de Cosiguiriachi, situated at the 
foot of the sierra de los Metates. The population of 
Cosiguiriachi is said to amount to nearly 11,000 souls. 
To the west of the Rio de Conchos is the town and 
real of San Pedro de Batopilas, with a population of 
8,000, which was formerly celebrated for the great 
wealth of its mines. To the same rich groupe (the 
third in Humboldt's enumeration, and the most 

* Tike's Exploratory Travels, p. 352. 



60 MEXICO. 

northern in Mexico, extending from lat. 26° 50' to 
29° 10' N. ; and from long. 106° 45' to 108° 50' W.) 
belongs the real of San Jose de Parral, situated to 
the south of Chihuahua, and the residence of a depu- 
tation of mines : the population is stated at 5,000. 
This real, as well as the town of Parras, received its 
name from the great number of wild vine-shoots with 
which the country was covered on the first arrival of 
the Spaniards. A fifth mining district within this 
intendancy, is that of Guarisamey, a very old real, on 
the road from Durango to Copala, with a population 
of 3,800. It belongs to the groupe of Durango and 
Sonora, ranked by Humboldt as the second in point 
of actual produce ; extending from lat. 23° to 24° 45' 
N., and from long. 106° 30' to 109 Q 50' W. 

The other chief places in this intendancy, according 
to Humboldt, are, San Juan del Rio, to the S.W. of 
the lake of Parras, population 10,200 ; Nombre de 
Dios, population 6,800 ; Pasquiaro, a small town to 
the S. of the Rio de Nasas, with a population of 
5,600 ; Mapimis, a military post {presidio), to the 
east of the Cerro de la Cadena, on the confines of the 
Bolson de Mapimi, — population, 2,400; Saltillo, on 
the confines of Cohahuila and Leon, in the midst of 
arid plains, towards the eastern declivity of the table- 
land, the population 6,000 ; and Parras, near the lake 
of the same name, west of Saltillo. The last two 
towns are included by Major Pike in the province of Co- 
hahuila, and have already been noticed. The same Tra- 
veller mentions, as one of the chief places of Durango, 
" Pollalein, situated at the foot of the Sierra Madre, 
and supposed to contain 25,000 souls." No such place 
is mentioned by Humboldt, and it is probably a mis- 
take for Parral, the population being overrated. The 
river Conchos, the largest in the province, has its 



MEXICO. 61 

source, according to the American Traveller, in the 
Sierra Madre, near Batopilas, in lat. 28° N. : after 
a course of about 300 miles, during which it re- 
ceives the Rio Florida from the east, and the Rio San 
Pablo from the west, it joins the great Rio del Norte 
in lat. 31°. The Rio San Pablo, the large western 
branch of the Conchos, has its head in lat. 28° 50', 
and after a course of about 150 miles, discharges into 
the latter at Bakinao : in summer, it is nearly dry ; 
in the rainy season, impassable. The Rio Florida 
takes its rise in lat. 26° 30' N., and has a course of 
similar length : about mid-way on its eastern bank, is 
situated the presidio of Guaxequillo. The Rio de 
Nasas forms in part the line between New Biscay and 
Cohahuila : it runs north, and empties itself into 
the lake Cayman on the borders of the Bolson de 
Mapimi. This stream is also nearly dry in summer, 
but, at some periods, impassable. Lake Cayman and 
lake Parras, situated at the feet of the mountains, 
are both full of fish. 

The climate of this intendancy is stated by Major 
Pike to be dry, and the heat, at that time of year 
which precedes the rainy season, very great. The 
rains commence in June, and continue, by light 
showers, till September. During the remainder of the 
year, there falls neither rain nor snow to moisten the 
earth, and the atmosphere becomes highly electrified.* 
The agricultural produce consists of wheat, maize, 

* " The atmosphere had become so electrified, that, when we 
halted at night, in taking off our blankets, the electric fluid would 
almost cover them with sparks; and in Chihuahua, we prepared 
a bottle with gold leaf as a receiver, and collected sufficient fluid 
from a bear-skin to give a considerable shock to a number of per- 
sons. This phenomenon was more conspicuous in the vicinity of 
Chihuahua, than in any other part that we crossed." — Pike, 
p. 348. 



62 MEXICO. 

rice, oats, cotton, flax, indigo, and the fruit of the 
vine. To the north of Chihuahua, about thirty miles 
to the right of the main road, there is some pine- 
timber ; in one place, near a spring,. Major Pike 
noticed a solitary walnut-tree ; and on all the small 
streams, there are, he says, shrubby cotton-trees. 
" With these few exceptions, the whole province is a 
naked, barren plain, which presents to the eye an arid, 
unproductive soil ; and more especially in the neigh- 
bourhood of mines, even the herbage appears to be 
poisoned by the qualities of the land." New Biscay 
trades both with the southern provinces and with 
New Mexico and Sonora, furnishing to the more 
populous parts of the kingdom a great number of 
horses, mules, beeves, sheep, and goats, in return for 
dry goods, European furniture, ammunition, books, 
&c, which are brought from the capital on mules. 
" Some individuals make large fortunes by being the 
carriers from Mexico to Chihuahua, the freight being 
eight dollars per cent; and they generally put 3001b. 
on each mule. The merchants make their remittances 
twice a year in bullion. Goods sell at Chihuahua 
about 200 per cent higher than the prices of our 
Atlantic sea-port towns.* They manufacture some 
few arms, blankets, stamped leather, embroidery, 
coarse cotton and woollen cloths, and a species of 
carpeting." This Traveller concludes his statistical 
account of the province by stating, that law here is 
merely a shadow, the only laws that can be said to be 
in force being the military and the ecclesiastical ; that 
the corruption of morals is general, — the natural con- 
comitant of a great degree of luxury among the rich, 

* This was in 1807. Horses then averaged at 6 dollars ; some 
would fetch 100 dollars ; trained mules, 20 dollars ; nee sold for 4 
dollars the cwt 



MEXICO. 63 

and of misery among the poor ; that the Roman 
Catholic religion is in full force, but the inferior clergy 
are much dissatisfied. 

There are no slaves in this province, nor any In- 
dians of the Aztec race ; — Humboldt says, not a single 
tributary individual, and " all the inhabitants are 
either white, or consider themselves as such." Major 
Pike explains the state of things more specifically. 
Except the Apaches, who inhabit the Bolson de 
Mapimi, there are, he says, no uncivilised savages 
in this province. " The Christian Indians are so in- 
corporated amongst the lower grades of Mestizoes, that 
it is scarcely possible to draw the line of distinction, 
except at the ranchos of some nobleman or large land- 
holder, where they are in a state of vassalage. This 
class of people laid a conspiracy, which was so well 
concerted as to baffle the research of the Spaniards for 
a length of time, and to occasion them the loss of 
several hundreds of the inhabitants. The Indians 
used to go out from their villages in small parties : in 
a short time, a part would return with a report that 
they had been attacked by the Indians. The Spa- 
niards would immediately send out a detachment in 
pursuit, when they were led into an ambuscade, and 
every soul cut off. They pursued this course so long, 
that the whole province became alarmed at the rapid 
manner in which their enemies multiplied ; but some 
circumstances leading to a suspicion, they made use of 
the superstition of these people for their ruin. Some 
officers disguised themselves like friars, and went 
round amongst the Indians, pretending to be possessed 
of the spirit of prophecy. They preached up to them, 
that the day was approaching when a general deliver- 
ance from the Spanish tyranny was about to take 
place, and invited the Indians to join with them in 



64 MEXICO. 

promoting the work of God. The poor creatures 
came forward, and, in their confessions, stated the great 
hand that had already been put to the work. After 
they had ascertained the nature and extent of the 
conspiracy, and obtained a body of troops, they com- 
menced the execution, and put to death about four 
hundred of them. This struck terror and dismay 
throughout the Indian villages, and they durst not rise 
to support their freedom and independence." 

To the west of New Biscay, lies the intendancy of 



SONORA, 

Comprehending the three provinces of Cinaloa* 
(or Sinaloa), Ostimury, and Sonora Proper. The first 
extends from the Rio del Rosario to the Rio del Fuerte 
(from lat. 23° to 26° 45') ; the second, from the Rio 
del Fuerte to the Rio del Mayo (in lat. 27° 30') ; and 
the third (called in some old maps, New Navarre) 
comprises all the northern part of the intendancy. 
Its northern limits are very uncertain. The villages 
of the district of Pimeria alta are separated from the 
banks of the Rio Gila, by a region inhabited by inde- 
pendent Indians, of whom neither the soldiers sta- 
tioned in the presidios, nor the monks posted in the 
neighbouring missions, have been hitherto able to 
effect the conquest. On the west, this intendancy 
has more than 280 leagues of coast extending along 
the Sea of Cortes, usually called the Gulf of California. 
On the south, Sinaloa is bounded by Guadalaxara and 
the ocean. Its breadth varies from 50 leagues (its 
greatest breadth below the 27th parallel) to upwards 
of 128 leagues. Its extent in square leagues is com- 
puted to be rather more than 19,000 ; and the popu- 



MEXICO. 65 

lation in 1803, was 121,400, or six inhabitants only 
to the square league. 

The province of Sinaloa was the first peopled. 
Major Pike estimates its population at 60,000, " not 
more than three-twentieths of whom are Spaniards ; 
the remainder, Creoles, Mestizoes, and Indians." 
In 1793, the number of tributary Indians in this 
province was 1,851. The country presents much the 
same aspect as that of New Biscay, — bare, destitute 
of timber, and hilly ; the air dry, pure, and salubrious, 
except along the coast, where the ground is marshy, 
the soil rich, and the atmosphere humid. It contains 
5 towns, 92 villages, 30 parishes, 14 haciendas, and 
450 ranchos. Sinaloa, the head town, called also the 
Villa de San Felipe y Santiago, is situated to the east 
of the port of Santa Maria d'Aome : its population is 
estimated at 9,500. Culiacan (" celebrated in the 
history of Mexico under the name of Hueicolhuacan") 
contains a population of 10,800. El Rosario, near 
the rich mines of Copala, has 5,600 ; Villa del Fuerte, 
or Montesclaros, to the north of Sinaloa, 7 5 900. 

Los Alamos, between the Rio del Fuerte and the 
Rio Mayo, the residence of a deputation of mines, is 
in the district of Ostimury, or Hostimuri, It con- 
tains about 8,000 inhabitants. Ostimury itself is a 
small but populous town, surrounded with considerable 
mines.* ' From the port of Guitivis at the mouth of 
the Rio Mayo, the public courier or post from Mexico 

* We have followed Humboldt, in the absence of better in- 
formation ; but in his map, the town or real of Hostimuri is placed 
on the north side of the river Mayo, between which and the river 
Fuerte he describes the province of Ostimury as lying. After 
stating, moreover, that the intendancy comprises the three pro- 
vinces of Cinaloa, Ostimury, and Sonora Proper, he takes no fur- 
ther notice of the second of these divisions, but subsequently di- 
vides the intendancy into the two provinces of Sonora and Cinaloa. 



66 MEXICO. 

embarks in a lancha for Loreto in Old California, 
whence letters are sent from mission to mission as far 
as Monterey and the port of San Francisco, in New 
California, under the parallel of 37° 48'. 

The chief places in Sonora Proper, are, Arispe, the 
capital of the intendancy, situated near the head of 
the river Yaqui, in lat. 31° N., long. 111° W., the 
population 7,600 ; Sonora, S. of Arispe, population 
6,400 ; and Terrenate, or Ternate, a presidio to the 
N. of the capital. Arispe, Major Pike says, u is 
celebrated throughout the kingdom for the vast quan- 
tity of gold table utensils made use of in the houses, 
and for the urbanity and hospitality of the inhabit- 
ants." He makes the population amount only to 
3,400, or less than half Humboldt's estimate, but 
whether on the authority of a more recent census or 
not, does not appear. Little is known with any de- 
gree of certainty or precision of these remote regions. 
Even the mines are too distant to attract or to repay at- 
tention. Yet, the proportion of gold which they yield, 
is so considerable, that gold does not preserve its 
usual exchange with silver in this province. General 
Salcedo told Capt. Pike, that the largest piece of pure 
gold ever discovered in New Spain, was found in this 
province, and it had been sent to Madrid to be put in 
his majesty's cabinet of curiosities.* Sonora trades 
with New Mexico, Durango, and the southern pro- 
vinces, either by land, or through the Californian Gulf. 

* All the ravines and even plains of the hilly country of the 
PHmeria alta, Humboldt states, contain gold scattered up and 
down the alluvial land. Masses of pure gold, of the weight of from 
5 to 8 lb. troy, have been found there. But these gold-washings 
are by no means diligently sought after, on account of the frequent 
incursions of the Indians, and especially on account of the high 
price of provisions, which must be brought from a great distance 
in this uncultivated country. 



MEXICO. bf 

It is celebrated for cheese, horses, and sheep. Like 
New Biscay, the province is destitute of timber, but 
has some rich soil near the sea. It abounds with 
deer, cabrie, bears, and " remarkably large Guana 
lizards, which are said to weigh ten pounds, are per- 
fectly harmless, and are trained by the inhabitants to 
catch mice." * 

The most northern part of this intendancy bears 
the name of Pimeria, on account of a numerous tribe 
of Pimas Indians who inhabit it. These Indians live 
for the most part under the domination of the mis- 
sionary monks, and observe the Romish ritual. This 
district is divided into the Pimeria alta and the 
Pimeria baoca ; the latter containing the presidio of 
Buenavista, and the former extending from the pre- 
sidio of Ternate to the Rio Gila. Here the tra- 
veller has reached the confines of civilised society. 
" Hitherto," says Humboldt, u there has been no 
permanent communication established between Sonora, 
New Mexico, and New California, although the Court 
of Madrid has frequently given orders for the formation 
of. presidios and missions between the Rio Gila and the 
Rio Colorado. Two courageous and enterprising monks, 
Fathers Garces and Font, succeeded, however, in 
penetrating by land through the countries inhabited 
by independent Indians, from the missions of the 
Pimeria alta, to Monterey and tie port of St. Fran- 
cisco, without crossing the peninsula of Old California. 
This bold enterprise, on which the college of the Pro- 
paganda at Queretaro published an interesting notice, 
has also furnished new information relative to the 
ruins of la Casa grande, considered by the Mexican 
historians as the abode of the Aztecs on their arrival 

* Pike, p. 388: 
PART TTI. F 



68 

at the Rio Gila towards the end of the twelfth century. 
Father Francisco Garces, accompanied by Father 
Font, who was entrusted with the observations of the 
latitude, set out from the presidio of Horcasitas on the 
20th April, 1773. After a journey of eleven days, 
they arrived at a vast and beautiful plain one league's 
distance from the southern bank of the Rio Gila. 
They there discovered the ruins of an ancient Aztec 
city, in the midst of which is the edifice called la Casa 
grancle. These ruins occupy more than a square 
league. The Casa grande is exactly laid down ac- 
cording to the four cardinal points, having from north 
to south 445 feet in length, and from east to west 
276 feet in breadth. It is constructed of clay (or un- 
burnt bricks) of unequal size, but symmetrically placed. 
The Avails are nearly four feet thick. The edifice had 
three stories and a terrace ; the stair, probably of 
wood, was on the outside. The same kind of con- 
struction is still to be found in all the villages of the 
independent Indians of the Moqui, west of New 
Mexico. We perceive in the Casa grande five apart- 
ments, each of which is about 27 feet in length, 10 
in breadth, and 11 in height. A wall, interrupted by 
large towers, surrounds the principal edifice, and ap- 
pears to have served to defend it. Father Garces 
discovered the vestiges of an artificial canal, which 
brought the water oZ the Rio Gila to the town. The 
whole surrounding plain is covered with broken 
earthen pitchers and pots, prettily painted in white, 
red, and blue. We also find among these fragments 
of Mexican earthenware, pieces of obsidian' (itzli) ; 
a very curious phenomenon, because it proves that the 
Aztecs passed through some unknown northern country 
which contains this volcanic substance, and that it was 
not the abundance of obsidian in New Spain, that 



MEXICO, 69 

suggested the idea of razors and instruments of itzlL 
We must not, however, confound the ruins of this 
city of the Gila, the centre of an ancient civilisation, 
with the casas grandes of New Biscay, situated be- 
tween the presidio of Yanos and that of San Buena- 
ventura. The latter are pointed out by the natives, 
on the very vague supposition, that the Aztec nation, 
in their migration from Aztlan to Tula and the val- 
ley of Tenochtitlan, made three stations : the first, 
near the lake Teguyo, to the south of the fabulous 
city of Quivira, the Mexican Dorado ; the second at 
the Rio Gila ; and the third, in the environs of 
Yanos. 

. " The Indians who live in the plains adjoining the 
Casas grandes of the Rio Gila, and Avho have never 
had the smallest communication with the inhabitants 
of Sonora, deserve by no means the appellation of 
Indios bravos (savages). Their social civilisation 
forms a singular contrast with the state of the savages 
who wander along the banks of the Missouri. Fathers 
Garces and Font found the Indians to the south of the 
Rio Gila clothed, and assembled together, to the 
number of two or three thousand, in villages, which 
they called Uturicut and Sutaquisan, where they 
peaceably cultivated the soil. They saw fields sown 
with maize, cotton, and gourds. The missionaries, 
in order to bring about the conversion of these In- 
dians, shewed them a picture painted on a large piece 
of cotton cloth, in which a sinner was represented 
burning in the flames of hell. The picture terrified 
them ; and they entreated Father Garces not to unroll 
it any more, nor speak to theni of what would happen 
after death. These Indians are of a gentle and sin- 
cere character. Father Font explained to them by an 
interpreter, the security which prevailed in the Chris- 



70 MEXICO. 

tian missions, where an Indian alcalde administered 
justice. The chief of Uturicut replied : c This order 
of things may he necessary for you : we do not steal, 
and we very seldom disagree ; what use have we then 
for an alcalde among us ?' The civilisation to be 
found among the Indians when we approach the north- 
west coast of America, from the 33d to the 54th pa- 
rallel, is a very striking phenomenon, which cannot 
but throw some light on the history of the first migra- 
tions of the Mexican nations." 

As Father Font is stated to have conversed with 
these Indians by means of an interpreter, either some 
of them must have had communication with the 
whites, or they must speak a dialect intelligible to 
the more southern tribes. On this point, however, 
the " seraphic chronicle" which contains the account 
of this expedition, appears to be silent, although of 
material importance in determining their affinity to 
the Aztec tribes. The whole statement rests for the 
present on the testimony of the two monks, who, 
though there is no reason to doubt their veracity, ap- 
pear to have discovered much more zeal, than know- 
ledge or good sense, in their attempts at conversion. 
The condition of these Indians of the Rio Gila will 
deserve to be investigated by future travellers. 

Still further north, in the country of the Moqui, 
watered by the Rio de Yaquesila, in lat. 30°, Father 
Garces u was astonished to find an Indian town with 
two great squares, houses of several stories, and streets 
well laid out in parallel directions. Every evening, 
the people assemble together on the terraces which 
form the roofs. The construction of the edifices is 
the same as that of the casas grandes on the banks of 
the Rio Gila, The Indians who inhabit the northern 
part oi New Mexico, give also a considerable elevation 



MEXICO. 71 

to their houses, for the sake of discovering the ap- 
proach of their enemies. " Every thing in these 
countries," adds Humboldt, " appears to announce 
traces of the civilisation of the ancient Mexicans. 
However, the language spoken by the Indians of the 
Moqui, the Yabipais, who wear long beards, and 
those who inhabit the plains in the vicinity of the 
Rio Colorado, is essentially different from the Mexi- 
can language. In the seventeenth century, several 
Franciscan missionaries established themselves among 
the Indians of the Moqui and Nabajoa, who were 
massacred in the great revolt of the Indians in 1600. 
I have seen, in manuscript maps drawn up before that 
period, the name of the provincia del Moqui." 

We now enter on what may be considered as the 
Siberia of Mexico, the province of 

NEW MEXICO. 

When the town of Durango, in New Biscay, was 
founded, under the administration of the second vice- 
roy of New Spain, Velasco el Primero, in 1559, it was 
then a military post against the incursions of the 
Chichimec Indians. Thirty -five years after this, in 
the year 1594, two friars came from the southern pro- 
vinces into New Mexico, where they were well 
received by the Indians. They returned, and in the 
ensuing year, Juan de Ouate, a monk, was sent 
out by the viceroy, Count de Monterey, to explore 
the country. On his return, 1,000 troops, and 500 
men, women, and children, were sent to form a settle- 
ment on the Rio del Norte, at no very great distance 
from where Santa Fe now stands. They are stated, 
to have entered into an amicable arrangement with 
the Indians respecting this establishment ; but, a few 
r 2 



72 MEXICO. 

years after, the natives rose en masse, and fell on the 
new settlers by surprise, killing most of the soldiers, 
and obliging them to retreat to the Passo del Norte, 
which acquired its name from this circumstance. Here 
they waited for a reinforcement from New Biscay, on 
the arrival of which with two field -pieces, they 
returned and laid siege to the Indian town on the 
site of Santa Fe. The natives held out for twenty- 
two days, after which they entered into a second 
negotiation, which appears to have been a com- 
promise, rather than a conquest, on the part of the 
besiegers. Since that time, the settlements have 
been on several occasions on the point of ruin, 
and have been maintained only by means of reinforce^ 
ments from Durango and Sonora. " It is remark- 
able," Humboldt observes, " that after the lapse of 
two centuries of colonisation, the province of New 
Mexico does not yet join the intendancy of New 
Biscay. The two provinces are separated by a desert, 
in which travellers are sometimes attacked by the 
Cumanches Indians. This desert extends from the 
Passo del Norte towards the town of Albuquerque. 
Before 1680, in which year there was a general revolt 
among the Indians of New Mexico, this extent of 
uncultivated and uninhabited country was much less 
considerable than it is now. There were then three 
villages, San Pascual, Semillete, and Socorro, which 
were situated between the marsh of the Muerto and 
the town of Santa Fe. Bishop Tamaron perceived 
the ruins of them in 1760 ; and he found apricots 
growing wild in the fields, an indication of the former 
cultivation of the country. The two most dangerous 
points for travellers are, the defile of Robledo, west 
from the Rio del Norte, opposite the Sierra de Dona 
Anar, and the desert of the Muerto, where many 



MEXICO. 73 

whites have been assassinated by wandering Indians. 
The desert of the Muerto is a plain thirty leagues 
in length, destitute of water. The general character 
of this country throughout, is an alarming aridity ; 
for the mountains de los Mansos, situated to the east 
of the road from Durango to Santa Fe, do not 
give rise to a single brook. Notwithstanding the 
mildness of the climate, and the progress of industry, 
a great part of this province, as well as Old Cali- 
fornia, and several districts of New Biscay, and 
the intendancy of Guadalaxara, will never admit of 
any considerable population. 

u The colonists of this province, known for their 
great energy of character, live in a state of perpetual 
warfare with the neighbouring Indians. It is on 
account of this insecurity of the country life, that 
we find the towns more populous than v^e should 
expect in so desert a country. The situation of the 
inhabitants of New Mexico bears, in many respects, a 
great resemblance to that of the people of Europe 
during the middle ages. So long as insulation exposes 
men to personal danger, we can hope for the establish- 
ment of no equilibrium between the population of 
towns and that of the country. However, the In- 
dians, who live on an intimate footing with the 
Spanish colonists, are by no means all equally bar- 
barous. Those of the east are warlike, and wander 
about from place to place. If they cany on any com- 
merce with the whites, it is frequently without any 
personal intercourse, and according to principles, of 
which some traces are to be found among some of the 
tribes of Africa. The savages, in their excursions 
to the north of the Bolson de Mapimi y plant along 
the road between Chihuahua and Santa Fe, small 
crosses, to which they suspend a leathern pocket, 



74 MEXICO. 

with a piece of stag-flesh. At the foot of the cross, a 
buffalo's hide is stretched out. The Indian indicates by 
these signs, that he wishes to carry on a commerce of 
barter with those who adore the cross. He offers the 
Christian traveller a hide for provisions, of which he 
does not fix the quantity. The soldiers of the 
presidios, who understand the hieroglyphical language 
of the Indians, take away the buffalo hide, and leave 
some salted flesh at the foot of the cross. This 
system of commerce indicates at once an extraordinary 
mixture of good faith and distrust." 

The more specific account which Major Pike 
gives of the aborigines, throws further light on the 
causes of this hostility of the natives. The sources of 
the Rio del Norte are the haunt of the Utahs, who 
speak the same language as the Kyaways, who wander 
about the sources of the Platte river, and the Ietans. 
These three tribes appear to be assimilated in their 
habits as well as in their dialect. They possess 
immense herds of horses, are armed with bows 
and arrows, and lances, and follow the buffalo. The 
Utahs are rather more civilised than the others, 
having more connexion with the Spaniards, with 
whom, however, they are frequently at war, and 
at other times with the Ietans. They are supposed 
to be 2,000 warriors strong. The Nanahaws occupy 
a district to the N.W. of Sante Fe ; they are fre- 
quently at war with the Spaniards. Their strength 
is supposed to be equal to that of the Utahs, and 
they are armed in the same manner ; but they speak, 
as do all the tribes further west and bordering on 
California, the language of the Appaches. The 
Appaches extend from the Black Mountains in New 
Mexico to the borders of Cohahuila, keeping the 
frontiers of three provinces in a state of perpetual 



MEXICO 75 

alarm, and occasioning nearly 2,000 dragoons to be 
maintained in constant employment for the protection 
of the villages, in the escorting of caravans, or in the 
repelling and avenging of the irruptions continually 
made into the settlements. " They formerly ex- 
tended from the entrance of the Rio Grande to 
the Gulf of California, and have waged a continual 
warfare with the Spaniards, with the exception of 
short truces, from the time that the latter pushed 
their conquests into the interior provinces. It is 
extremely difficult to say what their numbers are 
at the present day, but they must be very much 
reduced by their long and constant hostilities, together 
with the wandering and savage life they lead on the 
mountains, which is so injurious to an increase of 
population, and in which they are liable to be ex- 
tremely pinched by famine. At the commencement 
of their warfare, the Spaniards used to take them 
prisoners, and make slaves of them ; but, finding that 
their unconquerable attachment to liberty made them 
surmount every difficulty and danger to return to their 
mountains, they adopted the practice of sending them 
to Cuba. This the Appaches no sooner learned, than 
they refused to give or to receive quarter; and in 
no instance have there been any taken since that 
period, except when surprised asleep, or knocked 
down and overpowered. Their arms are the bow and 
arrow, and the lance. The bow forms two semicircles 
with a shoulder in the middle ; the back of it is 
entirely covered with sinews, which are laid on in 
so nice a manner, by the use of some glutinous 
substance, as to be almost imperceptible ; this gives 
great force to the elasticity of the weapon. Their 
arrow is more than the cloth-yard of the English, 
being three feet and a half long ; the upper part con- 



76 MEXICO. 

sisting of some slight rush or cane, into which is 
inserted a shaft of about one foot, made of some hard, 
seasoned, light wood ; the point is of iron, cane, or 
stone, and when the arrow enters the body, in 
attempting to extract it, the shaft comes out of its 
socket, and remains in the wound. With this weapon 
they shoot with such force, as to pierce through the 
body of a man at the distance of one hundred yards ; 
and an officer told me, that, in an engagement with 
them, one of their arrows struck his shield, and 
dismounted him in an instant. The other weapon of 
defence is a lance of fifteen feet in length, which with 
both hands they charge over their heads, managing 
the horse principally with their knees. With 
this they are considered as an overmatch for the 
Spanish dragoons single-handed ; but, for want of the 
tactic, they can never stand the charge of a body that 
acts in concert : they all have the shield. Some few 
are armed with guns and ammunition taken from the 
Spaniards. These, as well as the archers, generally 
march to war on foot, but the lance-men are always 
mounted. Numerous are the anecdotes I heard 
related of their personal bravery, and the spirit of 
their partisan corps. Not long before I passed 
through, as a cornet with sixty-three dragoons was 
passing between New Mexico and Biscay, he was sur- 
rounded by about two hundred Appaches infantry ; 
and instead of charging through them, as it was 
on the plain, he ordered his dragoons to dismount and 
fight with their carabines, by which means, he with 
his whole party fell a sacrifice. Malgares related an in- 
stance in which, when marching with 140 men, he was 
attacked by a party of Appaches, both horse and foot, 
who continued the fight for four hours. Whenever 
the Spanish dragoons made a general charge, the 



MEXICO. 77 

Appaches cavalry would retreat behind their infantry, 
who met the Spaniards with a shower of arrows, 
on which they immediately retreated; and even the 
gallant Malgares spoke of his cavalry breaking their 
infantry as a thing not to be thought of. How 
quickly would one full squadron of our troops have put 
them to flight, and cut them to pieces ! Malgares 
assured me, that if the men had seconded the efforts 
and bravery of the Indian chieftain, they must have 
been defeated and cut to pieces ; that in various 
instances he rallied his men, and brought them up to 
the charge, and when they flew, retired indignantly 
in the rear. Seeing Malgares very actively engaged 
in forming and bringing up the men, he rode out 
a-head of his party, and challenged him to single com- 
bat with his lance. This my friend refused, as, 
he said, the chief was one of the stoutest men he 
knew, carried a remarkably heavy lance, and rode a 
very fine charger ; but one of his corporals, enraged 
to see them thus braved by the savage, begged 
permission to meet the " infidel." His officer 
refused his request, and ordered him to keep his 
ranks ; but, on his reiterating his request, his superior 
in a passion told him to go. The Indian chief had 
turned his horse to join his party : on seeing his 
enemy advancing, he returned, and giving a shout, 
met him at full speed. The dragoon thought to parry 
the lance of his antagonist, which he in part effected, 
but not throwing it quite high enough, it entered his 
neck in front, and came out at the nape, when he fell 
dead to the ground, and his victorious enemy gave 
a shout, in which he was joined by all his followers. 
This enraged the Spaniards to such a degree, that 
they made a general charge, on which the Indian 



78 MEXICO. 

cavalry again retreated, notwithstanding the entreaties 
of their gallant leader. 

" In another instance, a small smoke was dis- 
covered on the prairie, and three poor savages were 
surrounded by 100 dragoons, and ordered to lay down 
their arms. They smiled at the officer's demand, 
and asked him if he could suppose, that men who had 
arms in their hands, would ever consent to become 
slaves. He being loath to kill them, held a conference 
for an hour, when, finding that his threats had as 
little effect as his entreaties, he ordered his men 
to attack them at a distance, keeping out of the reach 
of their arrows, and firing at them with their cara- 
bines, which they did, the Indians never ceasing 
to resist as long as life remained. Once, during a 
truce, a captain was ordered to treat with some of the 
bands. He received their deputies with hauteur, and 
they could not come to terms ; the truce was broken, 
and the Indians retreated to their fastnesses in the 
mountains. In a day or two this same officer pursued 
them. They were in a place called the ' Door in the 
Mountains,' where only two or three dragoons could 
enter at a time, and there were rocks and caves on 
the flanks. Between these the Indians secreted them- 
selves, until a number of the Spaniards had come in ; 
when the Indians sounded a trumpet, and the attack 
began, and continued on the side of the Appaches 
until the captain fell : the Indian chief then caused 
the firing to cease, saying, that ' the man who had 
so haughtily spurned the proffered peace, was now 
dead.' They made prisoner (for once) a young officer, 
who during the truce had treated them with great 
kindness, and sent him home safe and unhurt. 

" Some of the bands have made temporary truces 



MEXICO. 79 

with the Spaniards, and received from them 25 cents 
per diem each. These people hover round the forti- 
fications of the country, drink, shoot, and dissipate 
their time ; they are haughty and independent, and 
great jealousy exists between them and the Spaniards. 
Those savages who have for some time lived near the 
forts and villages, become, when hostile, by far the 
most dangerous enemies the Spaniards have, as they 
acquire the Spanish language, manners, and habits, 
and passing through the populated parts under the 
disguise of civilised and friendly Indians, commit 
murders and robberies without being suspected. 
There is in the province of Cohahuila, a partisan 
named Ralph, who, it is calculated, has killed more 
than 300 persons. He comes into the town under the 
disguise of a peasant, buys provisions, goes to the 
gambling-tables and to mass, and, before he leaves the 
village, is sure to kill some person, or to carry off 
a woman, which he has frequently done. Sometimes 
he joins travellers on the road, insinuates himself into 
their confidence, and takes his opportunity to assas- 
sinate them. He has only six followers ; yet, from 
their knowledge of the country, their activity and 
cunning, he keeps about 300 dragoons continually 
employed. The government has offered 1,000 dollars 
for his head. 

u The civilised Indians of the province of New 
Mexico consist of what were formerly twenty-four 
different bands, the several names of which I was not 
able to learn. The Keres were one of the most 
powerful : they form at present the population of San 
Domingo, San Felipe, San Dies, and one or two other 
towns. They are men of large stature, with round, 
full visage, and fine teeth, and appear to^be of a gentle, 
tractable disposition : they resemble the Osages more 

PAUT III. G 



80 MEXICO. 

than any nation within my knowledge. Although 
they are not the vassals of individuals, yet, they may 
properly be termed the slaves of the state ; for they 
are compelled to do military duty, drive mules, carry 
loads, or, in fact, perform any other act of duty 
or bondage that the commandant of the district, 
or any other passing military tyrant, may choose to 
ordain. I was myself eye-witness of a scene which 
made my heart bleed for these poor wretches, at 
the same time that it excited my indignation and 
contempt that they should suffer themselves, with 
arms in their hands, to be beaten and knocked about 
by beings in no respect their superiors, unless a slight 
tint of complexion could be supposed to give that 
superiority. Before we arrived at Santa Fe, we 
rested one night near one of the villages, where 
resided the families of two of our horsemen. They 
took the liberty to pay them a visit in the night. 
Next morning the whole party were called up, and 
because they refused to testify against their im- 
prudent companions, several were knocked down 
from their horses by the Spanish dragoons with the 
butt end of their lances. Yet, with the blood streak- 
ing their faces, and arms in their hands, they stood 
cool and tranquil. Not a frown, not a word of 
discontent or of palliation escaped them. Yet, what 
must have been the boiling indignation of their souls 
at the insults offered by the wretch clothed with a little 
brief authority ! But the day of retribution will come 
in thunder and in vengeance. 

w These savages are armed with bows and arrows, 
and lances, or escopates. Although they are said 
to be converted to Christianity, they still retain many 
of their ancient superstitious feasts and ceremonies. 
Once a year there is a great festival, which lasts 



MEXICO. 81 

three successive days, spent in eating, drinking, and 
dancing. The nocturnal revels have a great affinity 
to the ancient mystic rites of Greece." * 

The province of New Mexico extends along the 
Rio del Norte , from lat. 31° to 38°, heing about 
175 leagues in length, and varying from 30 to 50 
leagues in breadth.-)- But, in this space, there is 
a desert of more than 250 miles. The population in 
1803, was estimated at 40,000 souls, or seven persons 
to every square league. It is bounded on the north 
and east, by Louisiana ; on the south, by Durango and 
Cohahuila; and on the west, by Sonora and Cali- 
fornia. Although under the same latitude as Syria 
and central Persia, it has a remarkably cold climate : 
it freezes in the middle of May. Near Santa Fe, and 
a little further north, the Rio del Norte is sometimes 
covered for a succession of years with ice thick 
enough to allow of the passing of horses and carriages. 
The mountains which bound the basin of the Rio del 
Norte, and even those at the foot of which the village 
of Taos is situated, lose their snow towards the 
beginning of June.J " No persons," says Captain 



* Pike's Travels, pp. 337—43. This Traveller represents this 
festival as being held near a dark cave, which is made the scene of 
the infamous practices alluded to. There is no reason whatever to 
doubt, that this was the account he received ; but it agrees so little 
with the character of the Indian superstitions, their manners, or 
their physical temperament, that, in the absence of more specific 
information, it must be regarded as improbable. If substantiated, 
the coincidence would be most remarkable. 

f Humboldt.— Major Pike says, from lat. 31° 3(K to 37°, and be- 
tween 104° and 108° W. long. ; but the inhabited part is not more 
than 400 miles in length and 50 in breadth. 

^ From this circumstance, Humboldt infers, that the elevation 
of the valley above the sea level is not great : he supposes the bed 
of the river, under 37° N. lat., not to be more than from 2,300 to 



82 MEXICO. 

Pike, " accustomed to reside in the temperate climate 
of the 36th and 37th parallels of north latitude in the 
United States, can form any idea of the piercing cold 
experienced in that latitude in New Mexico. But 
the air is serene, not subject to damps Or fogs, as 
it rains but once a year, and some years not at all. It 
is a mountainous country ; and the grand dividing 
ridges which separate the waters of the Rio del Norte 
from those of California, bordering it on the line 
of its western limits, give a keenness to the air which 
would never be calculated on in a temperate zone. 
The cotton-tree is the sole production of this province, 
except some scrubby pines and cedars at the foot 
of the mountains. The former tree borders the 
banks of the Rio del Norte and its tributary streams.* 
All the rest of the country presents to the eye a 
barren wild of poor land, scarcely to be improved by 
culture, and appears capable only of producing a 
scanty subsistence for the animals, which live on a 
few succulent plants and herbage. There are no 
mines known in the province, except one of copper, 
situated in a mountain on the western side of the Rio 
del Norte, in lat. 34° N. It is wrought, and produces 
20,000 mule-loads of copper annually, furnishing that 
article for the manufactories of nearly all the internal 
provinces. It contains gold, but not in sufficient 
quantity to pay for its extraction. There is, near 
Santa Fe, in some of the mountains, a stratum of 
talc, which admits of being divided into thin flakes, 
of which are made the windows of most of the houses 

2,600 feet above the ocean. Captain Pike represents the western 
mountains as " covered in some places with eternal snows," but he 
was probably misinformed. 

* Humboldt says, " The banks of the river are extremely pic- 
turesque, and are adorned with beautiful poplars and other trees." 



MEXICO. 83 

in Santa Fe and all the villages to the north. New 
Mexico carries on a trade direct with Mexico and 
Biscay, and with Sonora. It sends out annually 
about 30,000 sheep ; also, dressed deer-skins and 
cabrie-skins, some fur, buffalo robes, tobacco, salt, 
and wrought copper vessels of a superior quality. It 
receives in return from New Biscay and Mexico, dry 
goods, confectionary, arms, iron, steel, ammunition, 
European wines and liquors ; from Sonora, gold, 
silver, and cheese.* The journey with loaded mules 
from Santa Fe to Mexico, and returning, takes five 
months. They manufacture rough leather, segars, a 
vast variety and quantity of potter's ware, cotton, 
some coarse woollen cloths, and blankets of a superior 
quality. All these manufactures are carried on by 
the civilised Indians, as the Spaniards think it more 
honourable to be agriculturists than mechanics. 
The Indians, likewise, far excel their conquerors in 
all mechanical operations. They cultivate maize, 
wheat, rye, barley, rice, and all the culinary plants 
of the same latitude in the United States ; but they 
are at least a century behind us in the art of cultiva- 
tion : notwithstanding the numerous herds of cattle 
and horses, I have frequently seen them breaking up 
whole fields with the hoe. Their oxen draw by the 
horns, after the French (and Spanish) mode. Their 
carts are extremely awkward and clumsily made. 
During the whole of the time we were in the country, 
I never saw a horse in a vehicle of any description, 



* As instances of the extreme clearness of goods and cheapness of 
produce, the Writer mentions the following prices : flour, 2 dollars 
per 100; salt, 5 dollars per mule-load; sheep, 1 dollar each; 
beeves, 5 dollars each ; horses, 11 dollars each; mules, 30 dollars 
each : — fine cloths, 20 dollars per yard ; superfine cloths, 25 dollars ; 
linen, 4 dollars ; and dry goods in proportion. 



84 MEXICO. 

mules being made use of in carriages, as well as 
for the purpose of labour. New Mexico has the 
exclusive right of cultivating tobacco.* The ani- 
mals found in this province are, deer, elk, buffalo, 
cabrie, the grisly black bear, and wild horses." -j- 

This province contains three towns ; Santa Ft, 
the capital, Santa Cruz de la Canada y Taos, and 
Albuquerque y Alameda: besides these, they reckon 
twenty-six pueblos, three parishes, and nineteen mis- 
sions. The presidio of Passo del Norte, however, 
is a considerable town, the most southern in the pro- 
vince. It is situated on the right bank of the Rio del 
Norte, above sixty leagues south of Santa Fe, in 
a " delicious" country, resembling (Humboldt says) 
the finest parts of Andalusia. The gardens contain 
in abundance all the fruits of Europe ; figs, peaches, 
apples, and pears. The fields are cultivated with 
maize and wheat, and the vineyards produce excellent 
sweet wines, which are preferred even to those of 
Parras, in New Biscay. As the country is dry, 
a canal brings the water of the river to the Passo, for 
the purpose of irrigating the land. During the great 
swells of the Rio del Norte in the months of May and 
June, the strength of the current destroys, almost 
every year, the dam which forces the waters of 
the river to enter the canal when they are low. The 
manner of restoring and strengthening the dam, is 

* This was under the colonial system, tobacco being, in the 
southern provinces, a royal monopoly, and its cultivation restricted 
to the environs of Orizaba and Cordoba, and Huatusco and 
Songolica in Vera Cruz. Officers (guardas de tabaco) travelled the 
country for the purpose of pulling up whatever tobacco they 
found planted beyond those districts. Prior to the establishment 
of the monopoly in 1764, Guadalaxara was celebrated for its 
tobacco. 

t Pike, pp. 331— G. 



MEXICO. 85 

sufficiently ingenious. " The inhabitants form bas- 
kets of stakes, connected together by branches of 
trees, and filled with earth and stones : these gabions 
are abandoned to the force of the current, which, 
in its eddies, disposes them in the point where the 
canal separates from the river." This is about two 
miles above the town, where there is a bridge over 
the river, by which the road passes to the eastern 
bank. 

Santa Fe, the capital, is situated on a small stream 
which empties itself into the Rio del Norte on 
the eastern side, at the foot of the mountains which 
divide the head waters of that river from those of the 
Arkansa and Red River of the Mississippi ; lat. 36° 15' 
N. ; long. 104° 45' W. of Greenwich. The town is 
"of a long rectangular form, extending about one 
mile from east to west on the banks of the creek. In 
the centre is the public square, one side of which 
forms the flank of the soldiers' square, which is 
closed, and in some degree defended by round towers, 
in the angles which flank the curtains. Another side 
of the square is formed by the palace of the governor, 
his guard-houses, &c. ; another is occupied by the 
priests and their suite, and the fourth by the chapi- 
tones (European residents). The houses are generally 
only one story high, with fiat roofs, and have a very 
mean appearance outside, but some of them are richly 
furnished, especially with plate." The population is 
stated by Humboldt at 3,600. From Chihuahua to 
Santa Fe, there is a good road for carriages over 
the level tract bordering the great river. " A sort of 
caleehe is generally used, such as the Catalonians call 
a volante" 

Albuquerque, situated to the west of the Sierra 
Ohscura^ opposite the village of Atrisco, about fifty 



86 MEXICO. 

miles S. of Santa Fe, contained a population, in 1803, 
of 6,000. Taos, the most northern town in New 
Mexico, in lat. 37°, contained nearly 9,000 inhabit- 
ants. 

The " great river of the north," so often referred 
to, rises in the Sierra Verde, in lat. 40° N., and long. 
110° W. (of Paris).* The same range of mountains 
gives birth to the head waters of the Platte river and 
other tributaries of the Missouri, to those of the 
Arkansa, which falls into the Mississippi, and to the 
rivers of California. The course of the Rio del Norte 
may be estimated, Major Pike thinks, including its 
meanders, at 2,000 miles : after watering the pro- 
vinces of New Mexico, part of Durango, Cohahuila, 
and New Santander, it falls into the Gulf of Mexico 
in lat. 26° N. " It cannot," says this Traveller, 
u in any part of its course, be termed a navigable 
stream, owing to sand-bars in the flat country, and 
mountains in the upper part, with which its course is 
interrupted ; but small boats might ascend as high as 
the presidio de Rio Grande in Cohahuila ; and it 
might be navigable for canoes in various parts of its 
course. Even in the mountains above Santa Fe, it 
afforded amply sufficient water for that species of 
navigation, and more than appeared to be flowing in 
its bed in the plains. This must be attributed to the 
numerous canals and the dry, sandy soil through 
which the river takes its course, and where much of 
the water that flows from the mountains is absorbed 
and lost. In the province of New Mexico, it is called 
the Rio del Norte ; below, it is termed the Rio 
Grande ; but in no instance did I hear it called the 
Rio Bravo (savage river), as many of our ancient 

* Pike, p. 332. 



MEXICO. 87 

maps designated it." Like the Orinoco, the Mis- 
sissippi, and other American rivers, it has its periodical 
floods : the waters begin to swell in the month of 
April, are at their height in the beginning of May, 
and fall towards the end of June. During the drought, 
the strength of the current is so far diminished, that 
it is fordable, according to Humboldt, by horses of an 
extraordinary size, which are used by the natives for 
the purpose. The waters are at all times extremely 
muddy. " The inhabitants of the Passo del Norte " 
Humboldt states, " have preserved the recollection of 
a very extraordinary event which took place in 1752. 
The whole bed of the river became on a sudden dry, 
for more than 30 leagues above, and 20 leagues below 
the Passo : the water of the river precipitated itself 
into a newly formed chasm, and made its re-appearance 
near the presidio of San Eleazaro. The fine plains 
which surround the Passo, and which are intersected 
by the canals of irrigation, remained without water, 
and the inhabitants dug wells in the sandy bed of the 
river. At length, after the lapse of several weeks, 
the water resumed its ancient course, — no doubt, be- 
cause the chasm and the subterranean courses had 
filled up." * 

Within the limits of this province, towards the west, 



* " This phenomenon bears some analogy to a fact which I was 
told by the Indians of Jaen de Bmcamvn-os during my stay at 
Tomependa. In the beginning of the eighteenth century, the 
inhabitants of the village of Puyaya saw, to their great terror and 
astonishment, the bed of the river Amazons completely dried up 
for several hours. A part of the rocks near the cataract of Rentema 
had fallen down through an earthquake ; and the waters of the river 
had been stopped in their course till they could get over the dike 
formed by the fall." — Pol. Essay, vol. ii. p. 266. The disappear- 
ance of the Rio del Norte for several weeks, must be regarded, how- 
ever, as a much more singular phenomenon. 
G 2 



88 MEXICO. 

the rivers San Rafael, San Xavier, De los Dolores, 
and De los Ananias (or Nabajoa), have their origin, 
(the former two on the western side of the mountains 
in which the Rio del Norte takes its rise,) and all 
unite to form the great Rio Colorado of California. 
This river, which may be, by its meanders, about a 
thousand miles in length from its sources, falls into 
the head of the Californian Gulf in lat. 33° N. It is 
said to be navigable for 300 miles from its mouth by 
" square-rigged vessels." " By this river and the 
Arkansa," says Major Pike, " the best communication 
might be established between the two oceans in North 
America. There are represented to be various, 
numerous, and warlike nations of Indians on its 
banks. Through the whole of its course, its shores 
are entirely destitute of timber ; and I was informed, 
that for 300 miles there is not a tree ten inches in 
diameter." 

To the north of the Colorado and the Del Norte, 
the Rio de San Buenaventura takes its rise in the 
Sierra Madre, and discharges itself into the Pacific 
Ocean in lat. 39° 30' N. The Rio Gila falls into the 
Gulf of California in lat. 33°, just below the mouth of 
the Colorado. The Rio Puerco (nasty river), a branch 
of the Rio del Norte, comes from the north, and joins 
the latter river about 100 miles below the presidio del 
Norte, in lat. 30°. None of these streams have any 
vestige of civilisation on their shores. 

THE PROVINCE OF NEW CALIFORNIA 

Is the name given, in the Spanish maps, to that part 
of the western coast which extends from the isthmus 
of Old California, or from the bay of Todos los Santos 
(all saints), to Cape Mendocino. " It is a long and 



MEXICO. 89 

narrow extent of country, in which for these (sixty) 
years the Mexican Government has been establishing 
missions and military posts. No village or hacienda 
is to be found north of the port of San Francisco, 
which is more than 73 leagues to the south of Cape 
Mendocino. The province, in its present state, is 
only 197 leagues in length, and from 9 to 10 in 
breadth. The city of Mexico is the same distance 
in a straight line from Philadelphia, as from Monterey, 
which is the chief place of the missions of New Cali- 
fornia." San Francisco, the most northern settlement 
in all the Spanish possessions, is under nearly the 
same parallel as Taos in New Mexico, from which it 
is not more than 300 leagues distant. No civilised 
traveller, however, has hitherto come from New 
Mexico to the coast of California. The population of 
the province in 1803, was estimated at 15,600, being 
seven inhabitants to the square league. 

" Although," says Humboldt, (to whom we are in- 
debted for almost all that we know of these parts,) " the 
whole shore of New California was carefully examined 
by the great navigator Sebastian Viscaino, (as is proved 
by plans drawn up by himself in 1602,) this fine 
country was not occupied by the Spaniards till 167 
years afterwards. The Court of Madrid, dreading 
lest the other maritime powers of Europe should form 
settlements on the north-western coast, which might 
become dangerous to the Spanish colonies, gave orders 
to the Chevalier de la Croix, the viceroy, and the Visi- 
tador Galvez, to found missions and presidios in the 
ports of San Diego and Monterey. For this purpose, 
two packet-boats set out from the port of San Bias, 
and anchored at San Diego in April 1763. Another 
expedition was sent out by land through Old Cali- 
fornia. Since Viscaino, no European had disembarked 



90 MEXICO. 

on these distant coasts. The Indians were quite 
astonished to see men with clothes, though they knew 
that further east, there were men whose complexion 
was not of a copper colour. There was even found 
among them several pieces of silver, which had un- 
douhtedly come from New Mexico. The first Spanish 
colonists who arrived, suffered severely from scarcity 
of provisions and an epidemical disease, the conse- 
quence of had food, fatigue, and want of shelter. 
Almost all of them fell sick, and only eight indivi- 
duals remained on their feet, who were employed in 
digging graves to receive the bodies of their unfortu- 
nate companions. The land expedition was very late 
in arriving with assistance to the infant colony. The 
Indians, to announce its arrival, placed themselves on 
casks with their arms stretched out, to shew that they 
had seen whites on horseback. 

" The soil of New California is as well watered 
and fertile as that of Old California is arid and stony. 
It is one of the most picturesque countries that can be 
seen. The climate is much more mild than that of 
the same latitude on the eastern coast of the New 
Continent. The sky is foggy, but the frequent fogs, 
which render it difficult to land on the coast near 
Monterey and San Francisco, give vigour to vegeta- 
tion, and fertilise the soil, which is covered with a 
black, spongy earth. In the eighteen missions which 
now exist in New California, wheat, maize, and 
beans (fricoles) are cultivated in abundance. As the 
thirty-six monks of St. Francis who govern these 
missions, are all Europeans, they have carefully intro- 
duced into the gardens of the Indians, the greater 
part of the vegetables and fruit-trees cultivated in 
Spain. The first colonists found, on their arrival in 
1769, shoots of wild vines in the interior, which 



MEXICO. 91 

yielded very large grapes, but of sour quality. The 
missionaries introduced the vitis vinifera of Europe, 
which is certainly a stranger to the New Continent. 
Good wine is made all along the coast, south and 
north of Monterey, to beyond lat. 37°. The Euro- 
pean olive is successfully cultivated near the channel of 
Santa Barbara and at San Diego : the oil extracted is 
as good as that of the valley of Mexico, or the oils of 
Andalusia. 

" Of all the missions of New Spain, those of the 
north-west coast exhibit the most rapid and remark- 
able progress in civilisation. In 1776, there were 
only eight villages ; in 1790, only eleven : in 1802, 
they amounted to eighteen. The population of New 
California, including only the Indians attached to the 
soil who had begun to cultivate their fields, was, in 

1790, 7,748 souls; in 1801, it had risen to 13,668; 
and in 1802, to 15,562. Thus the number of in- 
habitants had doubled in twelve years. In 1791, the 
Indians sowed in the whole province, only 874 fanegas 
of wheat, which yielded 15,197 fanegas. The culti- 
vation had doubled in 1802 ; the quantity sown being 
2089 fanegas, and the harvest 33,576 fanegas. In 

1791, there were only 24,958 head of black cattle in 
all the Indian villages. In 1802, the live stock con- 
sisted of 67,782 beeves, 107,177 sheep, 1,040 hogs, 
2,187 tamed horses,* and 877 mules. This progress 
of agriculture, this peaceful conquest of industry, is 
so much the more interesting, as the natives of this 
coast, very different from those of Nootka Sound 
and Norfolk Bay, were, less than fifty years ago, a 
wandering tribe, subsisting by fishing and hunting, 

* The total number of horses, reckoning those who run wild 
in the savannas, amounted to 19,429. 



92 MEXICO. 

and cultivating no sort of vegetables. The Indians of 
the Bay of San Francisco were at that time equally 
wretched with the inhabitants of Van Diemen's Land. 
The natives were found somewhat more advanced in 
civilisation (in 1769) only near the channel of Santa 
Barbara. There they constructed large huts of a 
pyramidal form, close to one another ; they appeared 
benevolent and hospitable ; and they presented to the 
Spaniards, vases very curiously wrought of stalks of 
rushes, lined with a very thin layer of asphaltus, that 
renders them impenetrable to water or strong liquors. 
" The population of New California would have 
augmented still more rapidly, if the laws by which 
the Spanish presidios have been for ages governed, 
were not directly opposed to the true interests both of 
the mother country and the colonies. By these laws, 
the soldiers stationed at Monterey, are not permitted 
to live out of their barracks or to settle as colonists. 
The monks are generally averse to the settlement of 
white colonists, because, being people who reason 
(gente de razon)* they are not so easily brought to 
yield a blind obedience as the Indians. ' It is truly 
distressing,' says a well-informed and enlightened 
Spanish navigator (D. Dionisio Galiano), ' that the 
military, who pass a painful and laborious life, cannot, 
in their old age, settle in the country, and employ them- 
selves in agriculture. The prohibition against build- 
ing houses in the neighbourhood of the presidio , is con- 
trary to all the dictates of sound policy. If the whites 
were permitted to employ themselves in the cultivation 
of the soil and the rearing of cattle, and if the mili- 

* " The whites, mulattoes, negroes, and all the castes except 
Indians, go under the designation of gente dc razon; a humiliating 
distinction for the natives, which had its origin in ages of bar- 
barism." 



MEXICO. 93 

tary, by establishing their wives and children in cot- 
tages, could prepare an asylum against the indigence 
to which they are too frequently exposed in their old 
age, New California would soon become a flourishing 
colony, a resting-place of the greatest utility for the 
Spanish navigators who trade between Peru, Mexico, 
and the Philippine Islands.' On removing the ob- 
stacles here pointed out, the Malouine Islands, the 
missions of the Rio Negro, and the coasts of San 
Francisco and Monterey, would soon be peopled with 
a great number of whites. What a striking contrast 
between the principles of colonisation followed by the 
Spaniards, and those by ivhich Great Britain has 
created in a few years villages on the eastern coast of 
New Holland! 

" The Indians who inhabit the villages of New 
California, have been of late years employed in spin* 
ning coarse woollen stuffs, called frisadas. But their 
principal occupation, the produce of which might be- 
come a very considerable branch of commerce, is the 
dressing of stags' skins. The Spanish and the Rus- 
sian establishments being hitherto the only ones which 
exist on the north-west coast, it may not be useless 
to enumerate all the missions of New California, which 
have been founded up to 1803, in the order in which 
they run, from south to north : — 1 . San Diego, founded 
in 1769, fifteen leagues distant from the most northern 
mission of Old California ; population in 1802, 1,560. 
2. San Luis Rey de Francia, founded in 1798 ; po- 
pulation, 600. 3. San Juan Capistrano, founded in 
1776 ; 1,000 inhabitants. 4. San Gabriel, 1771 ; 
1,050 inhabitants. 5. San Fernando, 1797; 600 in- 
habitants. 6. San Buenaventura, 1782 ; 950 inha- 
bitants. 7- Santa Barbara, 1786; 1,100 inhabitants, 
8. La Purissima Concepcion, 1787 ; 1,000 inhabit- 



94 MEXICO. 

ants. 9. San Luis Obisbo, 1772 ; 700 inhabitants. 
10. San Miguel, 1797 ; 600 inhabitants. 11. Soledad, 
1791 ; 570 inhabitants. 12. San Antonio de Padua, 
1771 ; 1050 inhabitants. 13. San Carlos de Mon- 
terey, the capital, 1770; population, 700. 14. San 
Juan Bautista, 1797 ; 960 inhabitants. 15. Santa 
Cruz, 1794 ; 440 inhabitants. 16. Santa Clara, 
1777; 1,300 inhabitants. 17- San Jose, 1797; 630 
inhabitants. 18. San Francisco, 1776, with a fine 
port ; population, 820." * 

San Carlos de Monterey is two leagues distant from 
the presidio of the same name. It is situated at 
the foot of the Cordillera of Santa Lucia, which is 
covered with oaks, pines, and rose-bushes. Cabrillo, 
who first discovered this coast, in 1542, as high as lati- 
tude 43°, called the Bay of Monterey, Bahia de los 
Pinos, on account of the beautiful pines with which 
the neighbouring mountains are clothed. It received 
its present name sixty years afterwards, in honour 
of the viceroy, Count de Monterey. u In the vicinity 
of San Carlos is found the famous shell (aurum 
merum) of Monterey, which is in request among the 
inhabitants of Nootka Sound." From Monterey to 
the mouth of the Colombia river, is a navigation 
of from eight to ten days. 

Within the extent of 180 leagues of coast, from 
San Diego to San Francisco, no fewer than seventeen 
dialects are said to be spoken by the natives. The 
northern part of the province is inhabited by the 
Rumsen and Escelen tribes, who speak languages 
totally different : they form the population of Mon- 
terey. In the Bay of San Francisco are found the 

* Humboldt's Pol. Essay, vol. ii. pp. 292—308. Of these 15,562 
inhabitants, 7j945 were males, 7>617 females. The number of 
whites, M. Humboldt estimates, by conjecture, at 1,300. 



MEXICO. 95 

Matalartu) Salsen, and Quirote tribes, each having its 
separate dialect, but evidently derived from a common 
language. Between some of these idioms and the 
Aztec, there is an apparent analogy, especially in the 
final tl. Humboldt remarks, too, that the Indians of 
California discover the same fondness for warm vapour 
baths as the old Mexicans and several tribes of 
Northern Asia, as well as of Northern Europe. " We 
find in the missions, beside each cottage, a small 
vaulted edifice. On returning from their labour, the 
Indians enter this oven, in which the fire has a 
few moments before been extinguished ; and they 
remain there for a quarter of an hour. When they 
feel themselves covered with perspiration, they plunge 
into the water of some neighbouring stream, or wallow 
about in the sand. This rapid transition from heat 
to cold, and the sudden suppression of the cutaneous 
transpiration, which a European would justly dread, 
causes the most agreeable sensations in the savage, 
who enjoys whatever acts with violence on his nervous 
system." This same practice is found among the 
natives of Russia and Iceland. 

Neither buffaloes nor elks are found in the low Cor- 
dillera which runs along this coast. On the crest of 
the mountains, which are covered with snow in the 
month of November, wander herds of a peculiar 
species of wild goat, of an ashy white, with horns 
curved backwards like those of the chamois ; they are 
called berendos. The forests of the plains abound 
with stags of a gigantic size, a brown colour, smooth, 
and without spot, with branches above four feet in 
length.* This stag of New California is represented 

* Sebastian Viscaino, the navigator, asserts, that when he put 
into the port of Monterey in 1602, he saw some with branches 
nearly nine feet in length. 



96 MEXICO. 

by all travellers to be one of the most beautiful 
animals of Spanish America. " These venados" 
says Humboldt, " run with extraordinary rapidity, 
throwing their head back, and supporting their 
branches on their backs. The horses of New Biscay, 
which are famed for running, are incapable of keeping 
up with them ; and they only reach them at the 
moment when the animal, who very seldom drinks, 
comes to quench his thirst. He is then too heavy 
to display all the energy of his muscular force, and is 
easily come up with. The hunter who pursues him, 
gets the better of him by means of a noose, in the 
same way that they manage wild horses and cattle in 
the Spanish colonies. The Indians make use, how- 
ever, of another very ingenious artifice to approach 
the stags, and kill them. They cut off the head of a 
venado, the branches of which are very long; and 
they empty the neck, and place it on their own head. 
Masked in this manner, and armed also with bows 
and arrows, they conceal themselves in the brush- 
wood, or among the high and thick herbage. By 
imitating the motion of a stag when it feeds, they 
draw round them the flock, which become the victims 
of the deception. This extraordinary hunt was seen 
by M. Costanzo on the coast of the channel of Santa 
Barbara; and it was seen twenty-four years after- 
wards, in the savannas in the neighbourhood of Mon- 
terey, by the officers embarked in the galetas Sutil 
and Mexicana. The enormous stag-branches which 
Montezuma displayed as objects of curiosity to the 
companions of Cortez, belonged, perhaps, to the vena- 
dos of New California. I saw two of them, which 
were found in the old monument of Xoachicalco, and 
which are still preserved in the palace of the viceroy. 
Notwithstanding the want of interior communication 



MEXICO. 97 

in the fifteenth century, in the kingdom of Anahuac, 
it would not have been extraordinary if these stags 
had come from hand to hand from the 35° to the 20° 
of latitude ; in the same manner as we see the beau- 
tiful piedras de Mahagua of Brazil, among the Caribs, 
near the mouth of the Orinoco." 

The peninsula which forms the province of 

OLD CALIFORNIA, 

While it equals England in extent of territory, 
u does not contain a population equal to Ipswich or 
Deptford." The number of square leagues is stated by 
■ Humboldt at 7,295 ; the population in 1803, at 9,000. 
Extending from lat. 22° 48' 10",* to lat. 31°, it lies 
under the same parallel as Bengal and the Canary 
Islands. " The sky is constantly serene and of a 
deep blue, without a cloud; or, should any clouds 
appear at the setting of the sun, they display the 
most beautiful shades of violet, purple, and green. 
All persons who have ever been in California, pre- 
serve a recollection of the extraordinary beauty of this 
phenomenon, which depends on a particular state of 
the vesicular vapour and the purity of the air in these 
climates. No where could an astronomer find a more 
delightful abode, than at Cumana, Coro, the island 
of Margarita, and the coast of California. But, un- 
fortunately, in this peninsula, the sky is more beau- 
tiful than the earth. The soil is sandy and arid, like 
the shores of Provence : vegetation is at a stand, and 
rain is very unfrequent." 

A chain of mountains runs through the centre 
of the peninsula^ the most elevated of which, the 

* The latitude of Cape San Lucas. 



98 MEXICO. 

Cerro de la Giganta, is between 4,500 and 5,000 feet 
high, and appears to be of volcanic origin. This Cor- 
dillera is inhabited by a breed of wild sheep (carneros 
cimarones), resembling in their form and habits, the 
mouflon of Sardinia : they leap, like the ibex, with 
their head downwards, and their horns are curved 
back in a spiral form. They are supposed to differ, 
however, specifically, from the berendos of New Cali- 
fornia. At the foot of this cordillera is found, for the 
most part, a sandy or a stony stratum, from which 
a species of cactus of a cylindrical form (organos del 
lunal) shoots up to an extraordinary height. There 
are but few springs ; and where water is found, the 
rock is often bare of vegetable earth. In those few 
points where there are both water and earth, the 
fertility of the soil is immense. In these places, where 
the Jesuits established their first missions, maize, the 
manioc, and the igname, vegetate vigorously, and the 
vine yields an excellent grape. In general, how- 
ever, the arid nature of the soil and the want of water 
preclude all cultivation ; and Old California will 
never be able to maintain a great population, any 
more than the northern part of Sonora, which is 
almost equally dry and sandy. 

Old California was first colonised by the Jesuits, 
not without opposition on the part of the Franciscans, 
their rivals, who endeavoured, from time to time, 
to introduce themselves among the Indians, as well as 
from the soldiers of the presidios. The village of 
Loreto, the principal place of all the missions, was 
founded in 1697? by Father Kiihn, the astronomer 
of Ingolstadt, under the name of the presidio of 
San Dionisio. It was not till subsequently to the 
year 1744, that the Spanish establishments in Cali- 
fornia became considerable, owing to the successful 



MEXICO. 99 

exertions of the Jesuits.* In a very few years, they 
built sixteen villages in the interior. Since their ex- 
pulsion in 17^7, California has been confided to the 
Dominican monks of the city of Mexico, who have 
not been so fortunate in their missions as the Francis- 
cans in New California. The population of the vil- 
lages has ever since been on the decline, and the 
number of the missions was reduced in 1803 to 
sixteen. The principal are, Loreto, above referred to ; 
Santa Ana, a mission and real ; and San Joseph. 
The missions of Santiago and Guadalupe remain with- 
out inhabitants. The small-pox and syphilis are stated 
to have been the chief causes of the depopulation ; 
but M. Humboldt reasonably conjectures that there 
are other causes, connected with the political admini- 
stration, which have retarded the prosperity of the 
settlements. The number of the savages is supposed 
to be under 4,000. 

The chief attraction which has led navigators to 
visit the coast of this desert country, is, the pearls 
which abound in the southern part. M Since the 
cessation of the pearl-fishery near the island of 
Margarita, opposite the coast of Araya, the Gulfs of 

* " Since the first discovery of California, there have been 
various wandering missionaries who have visited it at different 
times, though to little purpose ; but of late years, the Jesuits, en- 
couraged and supported by a large donation from the Marquis de 
Valero, a most munificent bigot, have fixed themselves upon the 
place, and have there established a very considerable mission. 
Their principal settlement lies just within Cape St. Lucas, where 
they have collected a great number of savages, and have endea- 
voured to inure them to agriculture and other mechanic arts. Nor 
have their efforts been altogether ineffectual, for they have planted 
vines at their settlements with very good success, so that they 
already make a considerable quantity of wine, resembling in fla- 
vour the inferior sorts of Madeira." — Ax son's Voyage round the 
World, 1740 — I, chap. x. 



100 MEXICO. 

Panama and California are the only quarters in the 
Spanish colonies which supply pearls for the European 
market. Those of California are of a very beautiful 
water, and large, but they are frequently of an 
irregular and unpleasing figure. The shell which 
produces the pearl, is particularly to be found in 
the Bay of Ceralvo, and round the islands of Santa 
Cruz and San Jose. In 1768 — 1769, a private soldier 
of Loreto, Juan Ocio, became rich in a short time, 
by pearl-fishing on the coast of Ceralvo. Since that 
period, the number^ of pearls annually brought to 
market, has been reduced almost to nothing. The 
Indians and negroes who follow the laborious occupa- 
tion of divers, are so poorly paid by the whites, that 
the fishery is considered as abandoned." In 1803, 
a Spanish ecclesiastic, resident at Mexico, proposed to 
the Government to employ a diving-bell in the pearl- 
fishery ; and M. Humboldt witnessed a series of 
experiments made in a small pond near the castle 
of Chapoltepec, with a view to carry this project into 
effect ; but it does not appear that they were ever 
repeated in the Gulf of California. Hitherto, he says, 
almost all the pearls supplied by the colonies, have 
come from the Gulf of Panama. The western coast 
of Mexico, u especially that part of the Great Ocean 
situated between the Gulf of Bayonna, the three 
Mary islands, and Cape St. Lucas," abounds also in 
cachalots, or spermaceti whales. This fishery is an 
important object of mercantile speculation, and has 
long been pursued by both English and Anglo-Ameri- 
can traders. Yet " the Spanish Mexicans," remarks 
the learned Traveller, " see the cachalot fishers arrive 
on their coast after a navigation of more than 5,000 
marine leagues, without ever endeavouring to share in 
the pursuit. In the present state of the colonies, the 



MEXICO. 101 

sloth of the inhabitants is inimical to the execution of 
such projects ; and it would be impossible to procure 
sailors willing to embrace so rude a business, and 
so miserable a life, as that of a cachalot -fisher. How 
could they be found in a country where, according to 
the ideas of the common people, all that is necessary 
to happiness, is, bananas, salted flesh, a hammock, and 
a guitar ? The hope of gain is too weak a stimulus 
under a zone where beneficent Nature provides man 
with a thousand means of procuring an easy and 
peaceful existence, without quitting his country, 
and without struggling with the monsters of the 
ocean."* 

FROM SANTA FE TO NATCHITOCHES. 

Major Pike, to whom repeated reference has 
been made in the preceding account of the interior 
provinces, arrived at the Rio del Norte, in an ex- 
ploratory journey through the interior of Louisiana. 
He supposed it at first to be the Red River. Here 
they were discovered by the Spaniards, and a detach- 
ment was sent out to bring the whole party to 
Santa Fe. The American Major, finding that he had 
unwittingly committed himself by entering the Spanish 
territory, and having no orders to engage in hos- 
tilities, had no alternative but to comply with the 
requisition. On the 27th of February, 1807, the 
party set out in a southerly direction, and on the 
third day reached the village of Agua Caliente (warm 
springs), situated on the eastern branch of a stream 
of that name, about twelve miles above its junction 
with the river de los Conejos (of rabbits). The warm 
springs, which give name to the place, are two in 

* See, for further information relative to the pearl and cachalot 
fisheries, Pol. Essay, vol. iii. pp. 79—94. 



102 MEXICO. 

number, about ten yards apart, and each affording 
sufficient water for a mill-seat ; they are more 
than 33° above blood heat, and appeared to be 
impregnated with copper. The next day, they arrived 
at the village of St. John's, situated on the eastern 
branch of the Rio del Norte, a little below the 
confluence of the Rio de los Conejos, " the residence 
of the president priest of the province." In this 
day's route, they passed several mud-walled villages 
and settlements, and were shewn the ruins of several 
old villages, which had been destroyed by the Ietans. 
St. John's is supposed to contain about a thousand 
souls, chiefly civilised Indians ; the whites in all these 
villages not forming a twentieth part of the popu- 
lation. On the fifth day, they reached Santa Fe. 

The reception which the American party met with 
from the governor, was manly and polite ; but it was 
deemed necessary that they should be sent to Chihua- 
hua, to appear before the commandant-general. Ac- 
cordingly, on the 4th of March, they set out under an 
escort. The first night, they lodged in a small 
village. The second day, they reached San Domingo, 
inhabited by Keres Indians, about 1,000 in number, 
governed by their own chief. These village chiefs 
are distinguished by a cane with a silver head and black 
tassel. On their arrival, the alcalde of San Domingo 
waited on the captain of the escort, cap in hand, 
to receive his orders. " After we had refreshed our- 
selves a little," says the American Major, " the cap- 
tain sent for the keys of the church. On entering it, 
I was much astonished to find, enclosed in mud-brick 
walls, many rich paintings, and the saint as large 
as life, elegantly ornamented with gold and silver. 
The captain made a slight inclination of the head, and 
intimated to me that this was the patron of the 



MEXICO. 103 

village. In an outside hall was placed another image 
of the saint, less richly ornamented, where the popu- 
lace repair daily to return thanks for benefactions 
received, or to implore new favours. Many young 
girls made choice of the time of our visit to be on 
their knees before the holy patron. From the flat 
roof of the church, we had a delightful view of 
the village, the Rio del Norte on the west, the moun- 
tains of St. Dies (Dionisius ?) to the south, and the 
valley round the town, on which were numerous 
herds of goats, sheep, and asses. On the whole, this 
was one of the finest views in New Mexico." 

Third day ; from San Domingo to the village of 
San Dies, opposite the mountain of the same name. 
At the village of San Felipe, which occurred in this 
day's journey, the road crosses a rude bridge of eight 
arches, the construction of which is sufficiently in- 
genious. " The pillars are of neat wood-work, some- 
thing similar to a crate, and in the form of a keel- 
boat, the sharp end (or bow) to the current : in this 
crate, or abutment, filled with stone, the river has 
lodged sand or clay, until the whole has become of 
tolerably firm consistency. On the top of the pillars 
are laid pine-logs length-wise, squared on two sides, 
and joined sufficiently close to make a tolerable bridge 
for horses, but which would not be very safe for 
carriages, as there are no hand-rails." At Albu- 
querque, which they passed through on the fourth 
day, they were received by the priest, Father Am- 
brosio Guerra, in a very flattering manner. After 
taking some refreshment, they were led into an inner 
apartment, where the father ordered his u adopted 
children of the female sex" to make their appearance. 
Among them were Indians of various nations, Spanish 
girls, French, and finally, two who, from their com- 

PART III. H 



104 MEXICO. 

plexion, Major Pike judged to be English. " On 
perceiving that I noticed them, he ordered the rest to 
retire, and directed these two to sit down on the sofa 
beside me. He told me, that they had been taken 
to the east by the letans, and passed from one nation 
to another, till he purchased them : at that time, they 
were still infants, and could recollect neither names 
nor language. Concluding that they were my country- 
women, he ordered them to embrace me as a mark of 
my friendship, to which they appeared nothing loath. 
We then sat down to dinner, which consisted of 
various dishes, with excellent wines, and, to crown 
all, we were waited upon by half a dozen of these 
beautiful girls. After the cloth was removed, the 
priest beckoned me to follow him, and led me into his 
sanctum sanctorum, where he had rich and majestic 
images of various saints, and, in the midst, the 
crucified Jesus, crowned with thorns, but with rich 
rays of golden glory surrounding his head. The 
room was hung with black silk curtains, which served 
to augment the gloom and majesty of the scene. 
When he conceived my imagination sufficiently 
wrought up, he put on a black gown and mitre, and 
kneeling before the cross, took hold of my hand, and 
endeavoured gently to pull me down beside him : on 
my refusal, he prayed fervently for a few minutes, then 
rose, laid his hands on my shoulders, and, as I con- 
ceived, blessed me. He then said to me, ' You will 
not be a Christian. Oh ! what a pity ! what a pity !' 
He then threw off his robes, took me by the hand, 
and led me out to the company, smiling ; but the 
scene I had gone through made too serious an im- 
pression on my mind to be effaced, until we took 
our departure, an hour afterwards, having received 
great marks of favour from the father.** 



MEXICO. 105 

Every where in journeying through New Mexico, the 
strangers met with the most unaffected kindness and 
hospitality ; and the Major expresses his lively grati- 
tude for the " noble reception" they gave to him and 
his " poor lads." The priests, too, were uniformly 
found much more liberal than those nearer the vice- 
royalty, where they lived under awe of the terrors 
of the Inquisition : many of them were remarkably 
friendly. Some, indeed, Major Pike says, would 
in his presence laugh at the superstition of the com- 
mon people, and the awe in which they were held by 
them. The priest of San Felipe, who entertained 
the party in the most hospitable manner, entered, 
during dinner, into a long and candid detail respecting 
the injustice done to the Creoles, wherein the worthy 
father spared neither the government nor its admini- 
strators. " Both as to government and religion,*' 
says the Major, " he displayed a liberality of opinion 
and a fund of knowledge that astonished me. He 
shewed me a statistical table, on which he had taken 
the whole province of New Mexico by villages, begin- 
ning at Taos on the north-west, and ending with 
Valencia on the south ; giving their latitude, longi- 
tude, population, whether savages or Spaniards, civi- 
lised or barbarous, Christians or Pagans, their num- 
bers, name of the nation, when converted, how 
governed, military force, clergy, salary, &c. &c. ; in 
■short, a complete geographical and historical sketch 
of the province. Of this I wished to obtain a copy, 
but perceived that the captain was somewhat sur- 
prised at the father's having shewn it me." At 
Father Ambrosio's, there was a chart which gave the 
near connexion of the sources of the Rio del Norte 
and the Rio Colorado of California. These are 
interesting facts, inasmuch as they serve to shew 



106 MEXICO. 

by how slight a tenure the Spanish government held 
these distant provinces, and how ripe the priesthood 
appear to have been for the political changes which 
have subsequently taken place. 

Both above and below Albuquerque, the inhabitants 
were beginning to open the canals, to let in the water 
of the river : men, women, and children of all ages, 
were seen assisting at the " joyful labour." The 
cultivation of the fields was now commencing, by 
which an air of life and gayety was given to the 
surrounding scenery. The travellers crossed the 
Rio del Norte a little below this town, where it 
is 400 yards wide, but, at this time, not more than 
three feet deep, and there was excellent fording. 
They lodged at a village some miles further on. 
The road continues on the west side of the river 
to the little village of Tousac, on leaving which, 
the party were ferried over by a cart, as the stream 
was nearly four feet deep. They proceeded on the 
fifth day as far as the village of San Fernandez. 
While here, they had a very characteristic specimen 
at once of Castilian politeness and Mexican morals* 
The following notification was sent by the com- 
manding officer to the alcaldes of several neighbouring 
villages : " Send this evening six or eight of your 
handsomest young girls to the village of San Fer- 
nandez, where I propose giving a fandango for the 
entertainment of the American officers arrived to- 
day." This order, which was punctually obeyed, 
H portrays," remarks Major Pike, " more clearly 
than a chapter of observations, the degraded state 
of the common people. In the evening, when the 
company arrived, the ball began after their usual 
manner, and there was really a handsome display 
of beauty." Lieutenant Malgares, who conducted 



MEXICO. 107 

the escort, though only a subaltern, had eight mules 
loaded with his common camp-equipage, wines, con- 
fectionary, &c. ! 

On the 10th of March (the seventh day), they 
reached the village of Sibilleta, having travelled by 
very easy stages : they now took leave of the inhabited 
country, and entered the wilderness. The road 
became very rough. " Small hills, running into the 
river, form valleys, the bottoms of which appeared 
richer than those to the north." They passed a 
caravan going southward with about 15,000 sheep, 
for which they would bring back merchandise : the 
party consisted of about 300 persons, besides an escort 
of between thirty and forty troops. A similar ex- 
pedition goes out in the autumn : during the other 
parts of the year, no one travels the road. The 
caravans collect at Sibilleta, where they separate oil 
their return : the February caravan returns in March. 
The government couriers meet and exchange packets 
at the Passo. Another party of fifty men, with 
about 200 horses loaded with merchandise, was met 
coming northward. The eleventh day, they halted 
at a point of the river, at the foot of the " mountain 
of Friar Christopher," where the main road leaves the 
river for two days' journey, bearing due south, while 
the river forms a considerable bend to the south- 
west : the distance, by the course of the river, 
to where the roads meet, is a march of five days, 
during which the river must twice be crossed. This 
latter route was taken by the party. On the seven- 
teenth day, they halted at a salt-lake, and on the day 
following, after passing over a mountainous tract, 
they reached the town of Passo del Norte. From 
this place, they proceeded by way of San Eleazaro and 
Carracal, to Chihuahua. Between the former two 
h 2 



108 MEXICO. 

stations, there is a small " pond," formed by a spring 
which rises in the centre, called the Ojo Malalka, 
which is the only water for sixty miles of the road. 

At Chihuahua, the American Major had to un- 
dergo an examination from the commandant -general, 
which was conducted with the utmost urbanity, dic- 
tated alike by Spanish courtesy and by that polite 
respect with which a citizen of the United States 
seldom fails to be treated in this country. He re- 
mained in this city from the 2d to the 28th of April, 
during which his time appears to have been not un- 
pleasantly occupied, the evenings being spent in visit- 
ing ; till at length, he received notice from his Excel- 
lency to hold himself in readiness to march. The 
route he was to pursue, lies in a south-easterly direc- 
tion to the fort of San Pablo, situated on the small 
river of the same name, flowing from the N.W., and 
falling into the Conchos. Here the party halted on 
the second day. Five hours further, they arrived 
at the banks of the Conchos, which they pursued for 
some leagues to its confluence with the Rio Florida, 
where there is a " miserable village." On the banks 
of the latter river are some very flourishing settle- 
ments, and the land is well timbered. The route 
lay up this river for six hours to Guaxequillo. Four 
miles beyond that place, the road diverges from its 
course, leaving it to the right, and, for between 40 
and 50 miles, no water occurs. About 10 miles 
further, the road passes due west through a gap in the 
mountain, and then turns south to a river twenty 
feet wide, with high, steep banks. It was now dry, 
except in holes, but, when full, is impassable. On 
the ninth day from Chihuahua (excluding a halt of 
three days at Guaxequillo), the travellers reached a 
station, surrounded with mines, which Major Pike 



MEXICO* 109 

calls Pelia, where are two large warm springs, 
" strongly impregnated" with mineral properties. 
The next day, they passed a copper mine, which was 
diligently worked, and arrived at the hacienda of 
Cadena, situated on a small stream, at the pass called 
the " Door of the Prison." The following day, they 
arrived at a village which Major Pike calls Mauperne 
(Mapimi ?), situated at the foot of metalliferous 
mountains, with some eight or nine mines in the 
neighbourhood. Three miles further, they halted for 
the night at a station beautifully situated on a little 
stream, in the midst of fig-trees. Early on the twelfth 
day, they arrived at a place where the road branches 
out into three. That on the right-hand is the main 
road to Mexico, leading through Parras and Saltillo ; 
the central one leaves all the villages to the right, 
passing only some plantations ; the left-hand road 
leads immediately through the mountains to Monte- 
lovez, and is called the route of the Bolson de Mapimi : 
it was first travelled by M. de la Croix, afterwards 
viceroy of Peru. In passing from Chihuahua to 
Texas by this route, you make in seven days, what 
takes from fifteen to twenty by the ordinary road ; 
but it is very scarce of water, and dangerous for small 
parties, as the Appaches fill these mountains. The 
middle road was the one which the escort had directions 
to pursue, in order that the Americans might not 
approximate the frontiers of the viceroyalty ; but, on 
the 16th day, they again joined the main road. They 
left Parras on the right, and, a league beyond, halted, 
on the 17th day, at the hacienda of San Lorenzo, 
pleasantly situated in the midst of vineyards. About 
five and twenty miles further is the hacienda of 
Polloss, a handsome place, Avhere the Marquis de San 
Miguel frequently spends the summer; the journey 



110 MEXICO. 

from the capital occupies ten days. This nobleman is 
stated to own the land, from the mountains of the 
Rio del Norte to some distance into the viceroyalty, 
and his annual revenues are immense. He maintains 
1 ,500 troops to protect his vassals and property from 
the savages, all cavalry, and as well dressed and armed 
as the regulars. " The hacienda of Polloss," says 
Major Pike, iC is a square enclosure of about 300 feet, 
the building only one story high, but some of the 
apartments are very elegantly furnished. In the 
centre of the square is a jet d'eau, which casts forth 
water from eight spouts extended from a colossal 
female figure : from this fountain all the population 
procure their supply of water. The marquis has like- 
wise built a very handsome church, which, with its 
ornaments, cost him at least 20,000 dollars. To offi- 
ciate in it, he maintains here a little, stiff, supersti- 
tious priest. In the rear of the palace (for so it might 
be called) is a fish-pond, stocked with immense 
numbers of fine fish. The population was about 2,000 
souls. This was our nearest point to the city of 
Mexico.*" 

The route which was pursued from this place, 
passes between a double range of mountains, which 
this Writer calls " Polloss mountains," but crosses a 
transverse branch, called " the mountain of the three 
rivers. " It falls into the main road from the eastern 
provinces, within a few leagues of Montelovez, which 
the travellers reached on the 25th day. On the 27th 
day's march, they passed the last mountains, and 
entered the a great valley of the Mississippi. On the 
30th day, they reached the presidio of Rio Grande, 
where, to the great mortification of the Spanish officer, 
it was with the utmost difficulty they obtained any 
thing to eat. The mosquitoes, which had made their 



MEXICO. Ill 

appearance the first night after leaving Montelovez, 
had now become v r ery troublesome ; and soon after 
crossing the Rio Grande, horse-flies were seen, and 
some wild horses. From this point, it is a distance of 
150 miles to where the route crosses the river Mariana, 
one of the heads of the San Antonio, a pretty little 
stream, forming the line, in that direction, between 
Cohahuila and Texas. On the 36th day, the party 
reached San Antonio, the capital of the latter pro- 
vince, where the American Major met with a recep- 
tion from Governors Cordero and Herrara, not merely 
hospitable and polite ; it was more like the cordiality 
of old friends and countrymen. They came three 
miles in a coach to meet the party. " We then," 
says Major Pike, " repaired to their quarters, where 
we were received like their children. Cordero in- 
formed me, that he had discretionary orders as to the 
manner of my going out of the country; that he 
therefore wished me to choose my time, mode, &c. ; 
and that any sum of money I might want, was at my 
service ; that, in the mean time, his quarters would 
be my residence, and that he had caused to be vacated 
a house immediately opposite for my men." On the 
next day but one, a large party dined at Governor 
Cordero's, when he gave as the first toast, the Presi- 
dent of the United States. In conversation, the two 
generals discovered, we are told, an astonishing ac- 
quaintance with the political character of the Ame- 
rican executive, and the local interests of the several 
parts of the Union. The portrait which Major Pike 
has drawn of these distinguished individuals, presents 
them in a very estimable light. 

" Don Antonio Cordero was fifty years of age, 
about five feet ten inches in height, fair complexion, 
and blue eyes. He wore his hair turned back, and 



112 MEXICO. 

every part of Ills dress was soldier-like. He still pos- 
sessed an excellent constitution, and a body which 
appeared to be neither impaired by the fatigues of the 
various campaigns he had made, nor disfigured by the 
numerous wounds received from the enemies of his 
king. He was one of the select officers who had been 
chosen by the Court of Madrid, to be sent to Ame- 
rica about thirty-five years, to discipline and organise 
the Spanish provincials, and had been employed in all 
the various kingdoms and provinces of New Spain, 
and through the parts which we explored. He was 
universally beloved and respected, and by far the most 
popular man in the internal provinces. He spoke the 
Latin and French languages well ; was generous, 
gallant, brave, and sincerely attached to his king and 
country. These numerous qualifications have ad- 
vanced him to the rank of colonel of cavalry, and 
governor of the provinces of Cohahuila and Texas. 
His usual residence was Montelovez, which he had 
greatly embellished ; but, since our taking possession 
of Louisiana, he had removed to San Antonio, in order 
to be nearer the frontier, to be able to apply the 
remedy to any evil which might arise from the col- 
lision of our lines. 

" Don Simon de Herrara is about five feet eleven 
inches high, has sparkling black eyes, with dark com- 
plexion and hair. He was born in the Canary Islands, 
served in the infantry in France, Spain, and Flanders ; 
he speaks the French language well, and a little of 
the English. He is engaging in his conversation with 
his equals, polite and obliging to his inferiors, and, 
in his actions, one of the most gallant and accomplished 
of men. He possesses a great knowledge of mankind, 
from his experience in various countries and societies, 
and knows how to employ the genius of each of his 



MEXICO. 113 

subordinates to advantage. He ^ad been in the 
United States during the presidency of General 
Washington, and had been introduced to that hero, 
of whom he spoke in terms of exalted veneration. 
He is now lieutenant-colonel of infantry and governor 
of the kingdom of New Leon. His seat of govern- 
ment is Montelrey ; and, probably, if ever a chief 
was adored by his people, it is Herrara. When his 
time expired last, he immediately repaired to Mexico, 
attended by three hundred of the most respectable 
people of his district, who carried with him the sighs, 
tears, and prayers of thousands that he might be con- 
tinued in the government. The viceroy thought 
proper to accede to their wishes pro tempore, and the 
king has since confirmed the nomination. When I 
saw him, he had been about one year absent, during 
which time the citizens of rank in Montelrey had not 
suffered a marriage or baptism to take place in any of 
their families, waiting until their common father 
could be there, to consent and give joy to the occasion 
by his presence. What greater proof could be given 
of their esteem and love ? In drawing a parallel be- 
tween the two friends, I should say, that Cordero was 
the man of the greatest reading, Herrara of the 
greatest knowledge of the world. Cordero has lived 
all his life a bachelor. Herrara married an English 
lady in early youth at Cadiz, who, by her suavity of 
manners, makes herself as much beloved and esteemed 
by the ladies as her noble husband is by the men. By 
her he has several children, one now an officer in the 
royal service. The two friends agree perfectly in one 
point, — their hatred of tyranny of every kind, and in 
a secret determination never to see that flourishing 
part of the New World subject to any European lord, 



114 MEXICO. 

except him whoiHntheir honour and loyalty bind them 
to defend with their lives and fortune. 

" It may not be improper to state, that we owe to 
Governor Herrara's prudence, that we are not now 
(1807) engaged in a war with Spain. This will be 
explained by the following anecdote, which he related 
in the presence of his friend Cordero, and which was 
confirmed by him. When the difficulties commenced 
on the Sabine, the commandant -general and the vice- 
roy consulted each other, and both determined to 
maintain what they deemed the dominions of their 
master inviolate. The viceroy therefore ordered Her- 
rara to join Cordero with 1,300 men, and both the 
viceroy and General Salcedo ordered Cordero to cause 
our troops to be attacked, should they pass the Rio 
Onde. These orders were positively reiterated to 
Herrara, the actual commanding officer of the Spanish 
army on the frontiers, and gave rise to the many mes- 
sages which he sent to General Wilkinson, when he 
was advancing with our troops ; but, finding they 
were not attended to, he called a council of war on 
the question, whether to attack or not. The council 
gave it as their opinion, that they should immediately 
commence a predatory warfare, but avoid a general 
engagement. Yet, notwithstanding the orders of the 
viceroy and the commanding general, Governor Cor- 
dero, and the opinion of his officers, he had the firm- 
ness, or the temerity, to enter into the agreement with 
General Wilkinson which at present exists relative to 
our boundaries on that frontier. On his return, he 
was received with coolness by Cordero, and they both 
made their communication to their superiors. ' Until 
an answer was received,' said Herrara, w I experienced 
the most unhappy period of my life, conscious that I 



MEXICO. 115 

had served my country faithfully, at the same time 
that I had violated every principle of military duty.' 
At length the answer arrived ; and what was it but 
the thanks of the viceroy and the commandant-general 
for having pointedly disobeyed their orders, with 
assurances that they would represent his services in 
exalted terms to the king ! What could have pro- 
duced this change of sentiment, is to me unknown ; 
but the letter was published to the army, and confi- 
dence was restored between the two chiefs and the 
troops." * 

Every thing at San Antonio appeared to be in a 
flourishing and improving state, owing to the encou- 
ragement given to industry by these two generals. 
The American Major remained here for a week, and 
then took his departure, with a Spanish escort, for the 
frontier. On the first day, they reached the river 
Guadelupe; a distance of 30 miles. On the second 
day, hey came at the end of fifteen miles to the 
St. Mark, and proceeded the same distance beyond it. 
Third day, distance advanced, 26 miles : within the 
last six, oak timber commences. Fourth day, they 
arrived at Red River, and advanced 26 miles. Fifth 
day, a journey of 30 miles, in the course of which 
they passed a large encampment of Tancard Indians. 
Sixth day, at the end of 25 miles, they crossed the 
river Brassos, where there is a ferry, with a stockade 
guard consisting of one corporal and six men ; and 
proceeded through a tract which is at certain seasons 
an impassable swamp : distance advanced, 31 miles. 
Seventh day, they advanced 30 miles through alternate 
woods and prairies of rich land, passing two small 
creeks. Eighth day, 20 miles through -similar country. 

* Pike, pp. 316—318. 
PART III. I 



116 MEXICO. 

Ninth day, they reached the station on the river 
Trinity, where they found both officers and privates 
(consisting of two captains, two lieutenants, three 
ensigns, and nearly 100 men) all sick, one scarcely 
able to assist the other. They met this day a number 
of runaway negroes ; also, some Frenchmen and 
Irishmen : distance advanced, 20 miles. Tenth day, 
22 miles. Eleventh day, 40 miles, crossing, in the 
latter part of the day, the river Natchez. Twelfth 
day, they came, at the end of fifteen miles, to the 
river Angelina, about the width of the Natchez, run- 
ning south ; and, twenty-two miles further, arrived 
at Nacogdoches. This part of the country is well 
watered, but the soil is hilly and sandy, covered with 
pine, scrub-oak, &c. Total distance from San An- 
tonio, 336 miles. 

From Nacogdoches, it is about 74 miles to the 
Sabine river, the frontier line between the Mexican 
and American territory, where Major Pike parted 
with the Spanish escort. About half way, the route 
crosses the river Toyac, flowing through a rich and 
well-timbered district. At length, on the 1st of July, 
the second day after crossing the Sabine, Major Pike 
arrived at Natchitoches ; and " language cannot ex- 
press," he says, " the gayety of his heart, when he 
once more beheld the standard of his country waving 
aloft. All hail, cried I, the ever-sacred name of 
country, in which is embraced that of kindred, friends, 
and every other tie that is dear to the soul of man !" 
Four months had elapsed since he left Santa Fe ; but 
six and twenty days were passed at Chihuahua, six 
days at San Antonio, and the other halts appear to 
have amounted to nine days, leaving 79 marching 
days. 

After leaving San Antonio, Major Pike had pursued 



MEXICO. 117 

the high road of Texas from Louisiana to Mexico. 
From that city, a road leads off, hy way of Loredo (on 
the banks of the Rio del Norte), Saltillo, Charcas, San 
Luis Potosi, and Queretaro, to the capital. " The 
road from New Orleans to the capital of New Spain," 
says Humboldt, " opened by the inhabitants of Lou- 
isiana, who come to purchase horses, in the interior 
provinces, is more than 540 leagues in length, and is 
consequently equal to the distance from Madrid to 
Warsaw. The road is said to be very difficult from 
the want of water and habitations ; but it presents 
by no means the same natural difficulties as must be 
overcome in the tracks along the ridge of the Cor- 
dilleras from Santa Fe in New Granada (Colombia) to 
Quito, or from Quito to Cusco. It was by this road 
of Texas, that an intrepid traveller, M. Pages, captain 
in the French navy, went, in 1767, from Louisiana to 
Acapulco. The road from Louisiana to Mexico pre- 
sents very few obstacles as far as the Rio del Norte, 
and we only begin from the Saltillo to ascend towards 
the table-land. The declivity of the Cordillera is by 
no means rapid there ; and we can have no doubt, 
considering the progress of civilisation in the New 
Continent, that land-communication will become gra- 
dually very frequent between the United States and 
New Spain. Public coaches will one day roll on from 
Philadelphia and Washington to Mexico and Aca- 
pulco." 

To complete our statistical and topographical view 
of this interesting country, we must now suddenly 
transport the reader across half the Mexican territory, 
and again place him on the western declivity of the 
great Cordillera of Anahuac, within the intendancy of 



118 MEXICO. 



VALLADOLID. 

This intendancy, at the period of the Spanish con- 
quest, formed part of the independent kingdom of 
Mechoacan, which extended from the mouth of the 
river Zacatula to the port of Natividad, and from the 
mountains of Xala and Colima to the river of Lerma 
and the lake of Chapala. Its capital was Tzintzontzan, 
or Huitzitzila, situated on the banks of the lake of 
Pascuaro. The modern intendancy lies between Gua- 
dalaxara and Guanaxuato on the north, Mexico on 
the east and south-east, and on the west and south- 
west it is washed by the great Pacific for rather more 
than 38 leagues of coast. Its greatest length is in a 
direction S.S.W. and N.N.E., from Zacatula to the 
basaltic mountain of Palangeo, a distance of 78 
leagues. Its extent in square leagues is 3,446 ; one 
fifth less than Ireland. Its population in 1803, was 
37 G, 400 souls, being 109 to the square league. It con- 
tains three places dignified with the name of city, viz. 
Valladolid, the capital, Pascuaro, and Tzintzontzan ; 
three towns, Citaquaro, Zamora, and Charo ; 263 
villages, 205 parishes, and 326 farms. In the imper- 
fect census of 1703, which gave the total population 
at less than 290,000, there were reckoned 80,000 
Whites, and nearly 120,000 Indians : there were 154 
monks, 138 nuns, and 293 secular ecclesiastics. 

All the southern part of the intendancy is inhabited 
exclusively by Indians, the only White to be met with 
in any of the villages being the cure^ and he also is 
frequently an Indian or a Mulatto. " The benefices 
are so poor, that the Bishop of Mechoacan has the 
greatest difficulty in procuring ecclesiastics to settle in 
a country where Spanish is scarcely ever spoken, and 




Eng* on Steel. 



IKDJA^S OF MICMOACA^. 



Published by J.Dur»Caii.37j?A.tenio«ter Row; March. <625. 



MEXICO. 119 

where, along the coasts of the Great Ocean, the priests 
are frequently carried off by malignant fevers engen- 
dered by the miasmata, before the expiration of seven 
or eight months." It is only to this portion of the 
intendancy, however, that the character of insalubrity 
attaches. The greater part of the province, situated 
on the western declivity of the table-land, intersected 
with hills and charming valleys, which present the 
uncommon appearance (under the torrid zone) of ex- 
tensive and well-watered meadows, — enjoys a mild 
and temperate climate, and is reckoned peculiarly 
healthy. 

The Indian natives of this province are of three 
distinct races : the Tarascs, celebrated in the sixteenth 
century for the gentleness of their manners, their in- 
dustry in the mechanical arts, and the harmony of 
their language, which abounds in vowels ; the Oto- 
mites, a tribe still far behind in civilisation, whose 
language is full of nasals and gutturals ; and the 
Chichimecs, who speak the Aztec or Mexican lan- 
guage.* The Indians of this province generally, are 
described by Humboldt as the most industrious of 
New Spain. " They have," he says, " a remarkable 
talent of cutting out small figures in wood, and 
dressing them in clothes made of the pith of an aquatic 
plant, which, being very porous, imbibes the most 
vivid colours."-)' The annexed plate is copied from a 
drawing made from two of these Indian figures, which 
exhibits a strange mixture of the old Indian costume 
with that introduced by the Spaniards. The learned 
Traveller gives us no account, however, of the dis- 
tinctive features and characteristics of the several 
tribes of Indians found in this province, — an inte- 

* See vol. i. p. 109. f Humboldt's Researches, vol. ii. p. 164. 



120 MEXICO. 

resting point, which will merit the attention of future 
travellers. 

Valladolid de Mechoacan, (so called to distinguish 
it from Valladolid de Yucatan,) the capital of this 
intendancy, is an episcopal city, situated in a delicious 
climate, at an elevation of nearly 6,400 feet above the 
level of the sea ; and yet, at this moderate height, and 
under lat. 19° 42', snow has been seen to fall in the 
streets, during the prevalence of northerly winds. 
It contained, in 1803, a population of 18,000 souls. 
The town-house, the churches, and the convents are 
described as handsome ; the alameda, or public walk, 
is boasted of for its beauty ; and the town is supplied 
with water by an aqueduct, erected at the expense 
of Bishop Antonio de San Miguel, towards the end of 
the last century, and said to have cost 20,000/. 

Tzintzontzan, the ancient capital of Mechoacan, 
though it still retains the title of city, is now only a 
poor Indian village, containing (in 1803) 2,500 in- 
habitants. It lies to the south-east of Valladolid, 
on the northern side of the lake of Pascuaco. The 
city which gives its name to the lake, is situated on 
the eastern bank, opposite to the Indian village of 
Janicho, which is built on a charming little island, at 
less than a league's distance, in the midst of the lake. 
Pascuaro contains the ashes of the first bishop of 
Mechoacan, Vasco de Quiroga, a distinguished bene- 
factor of the Tarasc Indians, who died in 1556, at the 
village of Uruapa. His memory is held in the 
highest veneration by the natives, who still speak of 
him as their father ( Tata Don Vasco). This city is 
7,200 feet above the level of the sea, and contains 
6,000 inhabitants. 

In the eastern part of this intendancy there are con- 
siderable mines : they form four districts ; Angangueo 



MEXICO, 121 

(including the rich real del Oro) r Tlalpujahtm (or 
(Tlapuxahua), Zitaquaro, and Inguaran. They be- 
long to the same groupe as the mines of Themas- 
caltepec ; but Humboldt gives no particular account of 
them. 

The most remarkable feature of this intendancy 
is the volcano of Jorullo (Xorullo, or Juruyo), which 
has already been referred to as one of the most 
tremendous physical revolutions that ever took place 
on the surface of the globe. It is situated to the east 
of the Peak of Tancitaro, the most elevated summit in 
the intendancy, at the distance of more thai} forty- 
two leagues from any other volcano now in action. 
M. Humboldt, who, with his colleague, M. Bonpland, 
visited its crater in September 1803, gives the follow- 
ing account of this wonderful phenomenon. 

" A vast plain extends from the hills of Aguasarco 
to near the villages of Teipa and Petatlan, both 
equally celebrated for their fine plantations of cotton. 
This plain, between the Picachos del Mortero, the 
Cerro de las Cuevas, and that of Cuiche, is only from 
2,460 to 2,624 feet above the level of the sea. In the 
middle of a tract of ground in which porphyry with a 
base of griinstein predominates, basaltic cones appear, 
the summits of which are crowned with evergreen 
oaks of a laurel and olive foliage, intermingled with 
small palm-trees with flabelliform leaves. This beau- 
tiful vegetation forms a singular contrast with the 
aridity ef the plain, which was laid waste by volcanic 
fire. 

" Till the middle of the eighteenth century, fields 
cultivated with sugar-cane and indigo, occupied the 
extent of ground between the two brooks called Cui- 
tamba and San Pedro. They were bounded by basal- 
tic mountains, of which the structure seems to 



122 MEXICO. 

indicate, that all this country at a very remote period 
had been already several times convulsed by volcanoes. 
These fields, waterecbfrf artificial means, belonged to 
the plantation (hacienda) of San Pedro de Jorullo, 
one of the greatest and richest of the country. In the 
month of June, 1759, a subterraneous noise was 
heard. Hollow noises of a most alarming nature 
(bramidos) were accompanied by frequent earthquakes, 
which succeeded one another for from fifty to sixty 
days, to the great consternation of the inhabitants 
of the hacienda. From the beginning of September, 
every thing seemed to announce the complete re- 
establishment of tranquillity, when, in the night be- 
tween the 28th and 29th, the horrible subterraneous 
noise recommenced. The affrighted Indians fled to 
the mountains of Aguasarco. A tract of ground from 
three to four square miles in extent, which goes by 
the name of Malpays, rose up in the shape of a 
bladder. The bounds of this convulsion are still dis- 
tinguishable in the fractured strata. The Malpays^ 
near its edges, is only thirty-nine feet above the 
old level of the plain called the Play as de Jorullo ; but 
the convexity of the ground thus thrown up, increases 
progressively towards the centre, to an elevation of 
524 feet. 

M Those who witnessed this great catastrophe from 
the top of Aguasarco, assert that flames were seen to 
issue forth for an extent of more than half a square 
league, that fragments of burning rocks were thrown 
up to prodigious heights, and that, through a thick 
cloud of ashes, illumined by the volcanic fire, the 
softened surface of the earth was seen to swell up like 
an agitated sea. The rivers of Cuitamba and San 
Pedro precipitated themselves into the burning 
chasms. The decomposition of the water contributed 



MEXICO. 123 

to invigorate the flames, which were distinguishable 
at the city of Pascuaro, though situated on a very ex- 
tensive table-land, 4,592 feet elevated above the 
plains {las plat/as) of Jorullo. Eruptions of mud, 
and especially of strata of clay, enveloping balls of 
decomposed basaltes in concentrical layers, appear to 
indicate that subterraneous water had no small share 
in producing this extraordinary revolution. Thousands 
of small cones, from six feet to nine feet in height, 
called by the natives, ovens (Jiornitos), issued forth 
from the Malpays. Although within the last fifteen 
years, according to the testimony of the Indians, the 
heat of these volcanic ovens has suffered a great 
diminution, I have seen the thermometer rise to 202° 
F. on being plunged into fissures which exhale an 
aqueous vapour. Each small cone is a fumorola^ 
from which a thick vapour ascends to the height 
of from 30 to 50 feet. In many of them a subter- 
raneous noise is heard, which appears to announce the 
proximity of a fluid in ebullition. 

" In the midst of the ovens, six large masses, 
elevated from 1,312 to 1,640 feet each above the old 
level of the plains, sprang up from a chasm, of which 
the direction is from the N.N.E. to the S.S.E. This 
is the phenomenon of the Monte-novo of Naples, 
several times repeated in a range of volcanic hills. 
The most elevated of these enormous masses, which 
bears some resemblance to the puys de TAuvergne, is 
the great Volcano of Jorullo. It is continually burn- 
ing, and has thrown up from the north side an im- 
mense quantity of scorified and basaltic lavas, containing 
fragments of primitive rocks. These great eruptions 
of the central volcano continued till the month of Fe- 
bruary 1760. In the following years, they became 
gradually less frequent. The Indians, frightened at 
i 2 



124 MEXICO. 

the horrible noises of the new volcano, abandoned 
at first all the villages situated within seven or eight 
leagues distance of the plains of Jorullo. They be- 
came gradually, however, accustomed to this terrific 
spectacle ; and having returned to their cottages, 
they advanced towards the mountains of Aguasarco 
and Santa Iiies, to admire the streams of fire dis- 
charged from an infinity of great and small volcanic 
apertures. The roofs of the houses of Queretaro were 
then covered with ashes, at a distance of more than 
forty-eight leagues in a straight line from the scene of 
the explosion. Although the subterraneous fire now 
appears far from violent, and the Malpays and the 
great volcano begin to be covered with vegetables, we 
nevertheless found the ambient air heated to such 
a degree by the action of the small -ovens (homitos), 
that the thermometer, at a great distance from the 
surface, and in the shade, rose as high as 100° F. This 
fact appears to prove that there is no exaggeration in 
the accounts of several old Indians, who affirm, that 
for many years after the first eruption, the plains 
of Jorullo, even at a great distance from the scene of 
the explosion, were uninhabitable, from the excessive 
heat which prevailed in them. 

" The traveller is still shewn, near the Cerro 
de Santa Ines, the rivers of Cuitamba and San Pedro, 
of which the limpid waters formerly watered the 
sugar-cane plantation of Don Andre Pimentel. These 
streams disappeared in the night of the 29th Sep- 
tember, 1759 ; but, at a distance of 6,560 feet further 
west, in the tract which was the theatre of the 
convulsion, two rivers are now seen bursting through 
the argillaceous vault of the homitos, of the appearance 
of mineral waters, in which the thermometer rises to 
126° F. The Indians continue to give them the names 



MEXICO. J£# 

of San Pedro and Cuitamba, because, in several parts 
of the Malpays, great masses of water are heard to run 
in a direction from east to west, from the mountains 
of Santa Iiies towards V Hacienda de la Presentation. 
Near this habitation there is a brook, which disen- 
gages itself from the sulphureous hydrogen. It is 
more than twenty-two feet in breadth, and is the most 
abundant hydro-sulphureous spring which I have ever 
seen. 

" In the opinion of the Indians, these extraordinary 
transformations which we have been describing, the 
surface of the earth raised up and burst by the 
volcanic fire, and the mountains of scoria and ashes 
heaped together, are the work of the monks, the 
greatest, no doubt, which they have ever produced in 
the two hemispheres ! In the cottage which we occu- 
pied in the plains of Jorullo, our Indian host related 
to us, that in 1759, Capuchin missionaries came to 
preach at the plantation of San Pedro, and not having 
met with a favourable reception, (perhaps not having 
got so good a dinner as they expected,) they poured 
out the most horrible and unheard-of imprecations 
against the then beautiful and fertile plain, and pro- 
phesied that, in the first place, the plantation would 
be swallowed up by flames rising out of the earth, and 
that afterwards, the ambient air would cool to such a 
degree, that the neighbouring mountains would for 
ever remain covered with snow and ice. The former 
of these maledictions having already produced such 
fatal effects, the lower Indians contemplate, in the 
increasing coolness of the volcano, the sinister presage 
of a perpetual winter. I have thought proper to 
relate this vulgar tradition, worthy of figuring in the 
epic poem of the Jesuit Landivar, because it forms a 
striking feature in the picture of the manners and 



126 MEXICO. 

prejudices of these remote countries. It proves the 
active industry of a class of men who too frequently 
abuse the credulity of the people, and pretend to sus- 
pend by their influence the immutable laws of nature, 
for the sake of founding their empire on the fear of 
physical evils." 

So little was known of this country prior to the 
visit of this admirable Traveller, that, although this 
catastrophe took place not seventy years ago, and 
within six days' journey of the capital of Mexico, it 
had remained altogether unknown to the mineralo- 
gists and naturalists of Europe. It is remarkable, 
M. Humboldt observes, that this new volcano was 
formed in a direction parallel with the line, running 
east and west, in which all the elevated summits of Ana- 
huac are found, that rise into the region of perpetual 
snow, and which are either active volcanoes, or peaks 
apparently of volcanic character. Thus, between lat. 
18° 59' and 19° 12',* receding from the Atlantic coast, 
we find the peak of Orizaba, the two volcanoes of 
Puebla, the nevado of Toluca, the peak of Tancitaro, 
the volcano of Jorullo, and lastly, that of Colima. 
These great elevations, instead of forming the crest 
of the Cordillera, traverse the great chain which forms 
the table-land. In connexion with this curious fact, 
it is mentioned, that, from the lake of Cuiseo in this 
intendancy, which is impregnated with muriate of 
soda, and exhales sulphuretted hydrogen, to the city 
of Valladolid, an extent of forty square leagues, there 
are a great number of hot wells, which generally con- 
tain only muriatic acid, without any traces of earthy 

* The volcano of Tuxtla, mentioned vol. i. p. 227, is rather to 
the south of this line, according to Humboldt's map, and he omits 
it in his enumeration in this place ; yet, its position serves to con- 
firm the general observation. 



MEXICO. 127 

sulphates or metallic salts. Such are the mineral 
waters of Chucandiro, Cuinche, San Sebastian, and 
San Juan Tararamco. From these indications of 
volcanic action in this particular region, Humboldt 
infers, that there probably exists in this part of 
Mexico, at a great depth in the heart of the earth, 
a chasm, in a direction from east to west, and for a 
length of 137 leagues, along which the volcanic fire, 
bursting through the interior crust of the porphyritic 
rocks, has at different epochs made its appearance. 
" Does this chasm," he adds as a query, " extend to 
the small groupe of islands called the Archipelago of 
Revillagigedo, around which, in the same parallel 
with the Mexican volcanoes, pumice-stone has been 
seen floating ?" 

' The most southern intendancy of Mexico, and one 
of the most valuable portions of the empire, is the 
intendancy of 

OAXACA. 

This fine province, from which Cortes took his 
title of marquis {del Valle de Oaxaca), derives its 
name from the Mexican city and valley of Huax- 
yacac, one of the principal places of the Zapotec 
country, and almost as considerable as Teotzapotlan, 
their capital. It is bounded, on the north, by Vera 
Cruz ; on the east, by Guatimala ; on the west, by 
Puebla ; and on the south, for eleven leagues of coast, 
by the Pacific Ocean. Its extent of surface exceeds 
that of Bohemia and Moravia together, being 4,447 
square leagues. Its population in 1803, was 534,800, 
being only 120 inhabitants to the square league, 
which is one-seventh below the average number in the 



128 MEXICO. 

nine intendancies south of the tropic, but relatively 
equal to the population of European Russia. Ac- 
cording to Humboldt's description of its physical ad- 
vantages, however, this province may be expected to 
advance very rapidly in improvement and population 
under a liberal and patriotic government. " The in- 
tendancy of Oaxaca," he says, " is one of the most 
delightful countries in this part of the globe. The 
beauty and salubrity of the climate, the fertility of 
the soil, and the richness and variety of its produc- 
tions, all minister to the prosperity of the inhabitants ; 
and this province has accordingly been, from the re- 
motest period, the centre of an advanced civilisation. 
The vegetation is beautiful and vigorous throughout 
the province, and especially half way down the de- 
clivity of the table-land, in the temperate region, 
where the rains are very copious from May to Octo- 
ber. This intendancy alone has preserved the culti- 
vation of the cochineal {coccus cacti), a branch of 
industry which it formerly shared with Puebla and 
New Galicia." The mines are not very considerable: 
hitherto, at least, they have not proved very pro- 
ductive. Those which have been worked with the 
greatest care, are those of Villalta, Zolaga, Ixtepexi, 
and Totomistla. They are all included in one depu* 
tacion, or mining district, and form the eighth groupe 
in Humboldt's classification, extending from lat. 16° 
40' to 18° N., and from long. 98° 15' to 99° 50' W. 
The annual produce he was unable to ascertain, and 
it is set down as doubtful. 

The geological structure of the mountain districts 
singularly differs from that which is observed in 
Puebla, Mexico, and Valladolid. In place of the 
strata of basalt, porphyry, and amygdaloid, which 
are found from the eighteenth to the twenty-second 



MEXICO. 129 

parallel, the mountains of Mixteca and Zapoteca are 
composed of granite and gneiss. The elevation of 
their highest summits is not known ; hut, from the 
Cerro de Senpualtepec^ near Villalta, which is con- 
sidered as one of the most elevated, both oceans are 
visible. This extent of horizon would only indicate, 
however, Humboldt says, an elevation of 7 5 700 feet. 
The same sight may also be obtained at La Ginetta, 
twelve leagues from the port of Tehuantepec, on the 
great road from Mexico to Guatimala. 

Oaxaca (sometimes written Guaxaca), the provin.. 
cial capital, built on the site of the ancient Huaxyacac, 
was called Antequera at the beginning of the conquest. 
Mr. Robinson describes it as " the neatest, cleanest, 
and most regularly built city in the kingdom." " The 
edifices are constructed with a green stone, which 
preserves its colour to perpetuity, and gives the city 
an appearance of freshness, such as we have never 
seen in any other. The convent of San Francisco, 
built more than 200 years ago, looks at this day as if it 
had just come from the hands of the architect. Streams 
of the purest water flow through all the streets ; and 
in all the squares, are beautiful public fountains. 
The fruits both of the torrid and the temperate zones 
are to be seen every day in the market-place. We have 
seen on one side of the road, trees loaded with oranges, 
and on the other, fields of wheat. The climate of this 
city is considered as equal to that of any other in New 
Spain : the thermometer rarely falls below 63°, nor 
ranges higher than 78°. The inhabitants are well 
made and remarkable for longevity. The women 
are likewise distinguished for their beauty and viva- 
city."* According to the imperfect census of 1792, 

* Robinson's Memoirs, vol. ii. p. 152. 



130 MEXICO. 

the population of this city was 24,000,* but this can be 
regarded as merely an approximation to the actual 
number. The territory of the marquisate of Cortes, 
comprising 4 villas and 49 pueblos, was computed to 
contain 17,700 inhabitants. Mr. Robinson states, 
that the most populous Indian villages in all Mexico 
are found in this province, but he furnishes no details. 
" Along the coast," he adds, " the climate is de- 
structive of health ; but the greater part of the pro- 
vince, particularly the mountains of the Misteca, is 
famed for its pure and salubrious air." 

The district of Mixteca, the ancient Mixtecapan, 
formed, prior to the conquest, a distinct territory, in- 
habited by a race differing from the Indians of Zapo- 
teca, the south-eastern part of the intendancy. It is 
divided into Upper (altd) and Lower (baxa) Mixteca. 
The Indians of this district are described by Hum- 
boldt as an " active, intelligent, and industrious peo- 
ple." On the road from Orizaba to Oaxaca, is the 
town of San Antonio de los Cues, " a very populous 
place, and celebrated for the remains of ancient Mexi- 
can fortifications." 

The district of Zapoteca contains one of the most 
remarkable monuments of ancient civilisation in all 
Mexico, " the palace of Mitla ;" a name contracted 
from Miguitlan, which signifies in the Aztec, M place 
of wo." " This term," says the learned Traveller so 
often cited, " seems to have been well chosen for a 
site so savage and lugubrious, that, according to the 
testimony of travellers, the warbling of birds is there 

* Mr. Robinson states that, according to a census taken in 1808, 
the province contains 600,000 inhabitants ; the city, 38,000 ; and 
the number of cities, towns, and villages, exceeds 800. " We have 
visited," he says, •« several villages containing 6 and 7000 inhabit- 
ants ;" yet not one-eighth part of the province is under cultivation. 



MEXICO. 131 

scarcely ever heard. The Tzapotec Indians call these 
ruins Leoba or Luiva (burial, or tomb), alluding to 
the excavations found beneath the walls." This ele- 
gant ruin is about ten leagues distant from Oaxaca, 
on the road to Tehuantepec. It is of unknown an- 
tiquity. According to the tradition of the natives, 
which is confirmed by the distribution of its parts, it 
was "a palace constructed over the tombs of the 
kings," to which, it is supposed, the monarch retired 
on the death of a son, a wife, or a brother. " The 
tombs of Mitla consist of three edifices symmetrically 
placed in an extremely romantic situation. The prin- 
cipal edifice, which is in the best preservation, is 
nearly 130 feet in length. A stair, formed in a pit, 
leads -to a subterranean apartment, 88 feet long by 
26. This gloomy apartment, as well as the exterior 
walls of the edifice, is covered with a la grecque and 
arabesque ornaments. But what distinguishes the 
ruins of Mitla from all the other remains of Mexican 
architecture, is, six porphyry columns, which are 
placed in the midst of a vast hall, and support the 
ceiling. These columns, almost the only ones found 
in *he New Continent, bear strong marks of the infancy 
of the art. They have neither base nor capital. Only a 
simple contraction of the upper part is observable. Their 
total height is nearly nineteen feet ; the shaft of each 
is of a single piece of porphyry ; but broken fragments 
for ages heaped together, conceal more than a third of 
the height of these columns." The ceiling which they 
served to support, was formed of beams of savine wood, 
three of which are still in good preservation. " The 
roof consisted of very large slabs." 

According to a plan of the palace, drawn by a 
Mexican artist, Don Luis Martin, there originally 
existed at Mitla, five separate buildings, disposed 



132 MEXICO. 

with great regularity. " A very large gate, some 
vestiges of which are still to be seen, led to a spacious 
court, 150 feet square. Heaps of earth and remains 
of subterraneous structures indicate that four small 
edifices of oblong form surrounded this court. That 
on the right is in a state of tolerable preservation, 
and the remains of two columns still exist. In the 
principal edifice, we distinguish, first, a terrace, raised 
three or four feet above the level of the court, and 
surrounding the walls, .to which, it served at the same 
time as a base ; secondly, a niche formed in the wall, 
between four and five feet above the level of the hall 
with pillars. This niche, which is broader than it is 
high, is supposed to have enclosed an idol. The prin- 
cipal door of the hall is covered with a stone twelve 
feet long by three. Next, after entering the inner 
court, is seen the well, or opening of the tomb. A 
very broad staircase leads to the excavation, which is 
in the form of a cross, supported by columns. The 
two galleries, which intersect each other at right 
angles, are each eighty -two feet long by twenty -five. 
Lastly, three small apartments surround the inner 
court, and behind the niche is a fourth, with which 
they have no communication. The different parts 
of this edifice present very striking inequalities and a 
want of symmetry. In the interior of the apartments 
are paintings representing weapons, trophies, and sa- 
crifices. There is no appearance of their having ever 
had windows." 

" The arabesques (with which the exterior walls 
are covered) form a kind of mosaic work, composed of 
several square stones (of porphyry), placed with much 
dexterity by the side of each other. The mosaic is 
attached to a mass of clay, which appears to fill up 
the inside of the walls, as is also observed in some 



MEXICO. 133 

Peruvian edifices. The length of these walls on the 
same line, is only about 130 feet ; their height probably 
never exceeded fifteen or sixteen feet. This edifice, 
however, though small, might produce some effect by 
the arrangement of its parts, and the elegant form of 
its ornaments. Several of the Egyptian temples are 
of still less considerable dimensions. In the environs 
of Mitla are remains of a great pyramid, and some 
other buildings very much resembling these." 

" The Greek ornaments of the palace of Mitla pre- 
sent, no doubt," continues M. Humboldt, u a striking 
analogy to those of the vases of lower Italy, and to 
others which we find spread over the surface of almost 
the whole of the Old Continent. We perceive in them 
the same design which we admire in the vases falsely 
called Tuscan (Etruscan ?), or in the frieze of the 
ancient temple near the grotto of Egeria at Rome." 
But the perfection of these ornaments, he contends, 
u is no indication of any great progress of civilisation 
in the people among whom they are found. M. Kru- 
senstern gives a description of arabesques of great 
elegance, fixed, by means of tattooing, on the skins of 
the most savage inhabitants of Washington's Islands."* 
Without running into hypothesis, however, the orna- 
ments in question, and the whole style of the building, 
are so little in unison with the character of the Mex- 



* Pol. Essay, vol. ii. pp. 191 — 4. Researches, vol. ii. pp. 152—9. 
The learned Author promises to give a further account of these 
interesting remains in his personal narrative ; but that portion of 
it relating to New Spain, has never as yet made its appearance. 
He does not, however, seem to have visited Mitla himself. The 
drawing given in the Picturesque Atlas, was communicated by 
Don Luis Martin. The whole of this district merits the particular 
attention of the future traveller. We should have been glad to 
give a view of this interesting site, but Humboldt's plate exhibits 
only some fragments of wall. 



134 MEXICO. 

ican teocallis, that they would seem to justify our 
referring them to a people of distinct origin. M. Hum- 
boldt thinks it scarcely probable, that the edifice is of 
a date anterior to the thirteenth or fourteenth cen- 
tury. Possibly, a further examination may throw 
some light on its comparative antiquity. It will de- 
serve also to be ascertained, whether the excavation 
be natural or wholly artificial. The " great pyramid," 
of the existence of which we are somewhat sceptical, 
claims particular attention ; and it will be important 
to ascertain, what apparent analogy there is between 
the ruins of Mitla and those of Palenque, and other 
ancient remains in the kingdom of Guatimala ; par- 
ticularly the cavern of Mixco in the valley of Xilo- 
petec, the entrance to which is stated to have a 
" Doric portico." 

An interesting natural curiosity is found at the vil- 
lage of Santa Maria del Tule, three leagues east of 
Oaxaca, between Santa Lucia and Tlacochiguaya. It 
is an ancient cypress (cupressus disticha)^ the trunk of 
which is still larger than that of the cypress of At- 
lixco,* measuring nearly 120 feet in circumference. 
On a minute examination, however, its enormous 
bulk is found to be composed of three trunks that have 
grown together. 

The only port in this intendancy mentioned by 
Humboldt, is that of Tehuantepec or Teguantepec, 
situated at the bottom of a creek formed by the ocean 
between the small villages of San Francisco, San 
Dionisio, and Santa Maria de la Mar. " This port," 
says Humboldt, " though impeded by a very dangerous 
bar, will become one day of great consequence, when 
navigation in general, and especially the exportation 

* See vol. i. p. 250. 



MEXICO. 135 

of the indigo of Guatimala, shall become more frequent 
by the Rio Guasacualco." As a port, it hardly de- 
serves the name : none but small-vessels can pass the 
bar, and without, they are exposed in an open road- 
stead. The sands brought down by the river Chima- 
lapa, increase the bar every year, and the town of 
Tehuantepec is now four leagues from the sea. But 
it is at this part of the isthmus, between the bay of 
Tehuantepec and the port of Guasacualco, that the 
continent is narrowest, the distance from the Atlantic 
to the Pacific Ocean not exceeding 45 leagues.* The 
isthmus of Tehuantepec comprises, under the parallel 
of 16° N., the sources of the Guasacualco (or Huasa- 
cualco), which discharges itself into the Gulf of Mex- 
ico, and those of the Chimalapa, which mingles its 
waters with the Southern Ocean near the Barra de 
San Francisco. The approximation of the sources of 
these two rivers, (which, according to Mr. Robinson, 
are within five leagues of each other,) suggested to 
the patriotic viceroy, Count de Revillagigedo, the 
project of a canal to connect the two seas. A fortu- 
nate accident, Humboldt informs us, towards the end 
of the last century, was the means of directing the 
attention of the Mexican Government to this part of 
the isthmus. 

" There was discovered, in 1771, at Vera Cruz, 
amongst the artillery of the castle of San Juan de Ulua, 
several pieces of cannon, cast at Manilla. As it was 
known that, before the year 1767, the Spaniards nei- 
ther doubled the Cape of Good Hope nor Cape Horn, 
in their voyage to the Philippine Islands, and that 
since the first expeditions of Magellan and Loysa, who 



* Mr. Robinson states the latitude of Guasacualco loosely at 
about 18° 3(V ; that of Tehuantepec at about 16° 36'. 



136 MEXICO. 

set out from Spain, all the commerce of Asia was car- 
ried on in the Galleon of Acapulco, they could not 
conceive how these guns had crossed the continent of 
Mexico on their way from Manilla to the Castle of 
Ulua. The extreme difficulty of the road from Aca- 
pulco to Mexico, and from thence to Xalapa and Vera 
Cruz, rendered it very improbable that they should 
come by that way. In the course of their investiga- 
tions, they learned both from the chronicle of Tehu- 
an tepee * written by Father Burgoa, and from the 
traditions preserved among the inhabitants of the 
Isthmus of Huasacualco, that these guns were cast at 
the Island of Luzon, and landed at the Bar of San 
Francisco ; that they had ascended the bay of Santa 
Teresa, and the Rio Chimalapa ; that they had been 
carried by the farm of Chivela and the forest of 
Tarifa to the Rio del Malpasso ; and that, after hav- 
ing been again embarked, they descended the Rio 
Huasacualco, to its mouth in the Gulf of Mexico. 

" It was then very reasonably observed, that this 
road, which had been frequented in the beginning of 
the conquest, might still become very useful for the 
opening a direct communication between the two seas. 
The viceroy, Don Antonio Bucareli, gave orders to two 
able engineers, Don Augustin Cramer and Don Miguel 
del Corral, to examine with the greatest minuteness, 
the country between the Bar of Huasacualco and the 
road of Tehuantepec ; and he instructed them at the 
same time to verify whether, as was vaguely supposed, 
among the small rivers of Ostuta, Chicapa, or Chima- 
lapa, there was none which in any of its branches 
communicated with the two seas. From the itinerary 



* *' Burgoa, Palestra Historial o Cronica de la Villa de Tehu- 
antepec. Mexico, 1674." 



MEXICO. 137 

journals of these two engineers, of whom the former 
was lieutenant of the castle of Ulua, I drew up my 
map of the Isthmus of Tehuantepec. They found that 
no river discharged at. the same time its waters into 
the South Sea and the Atlantic Ocean ; that the Rio 
Huasacualco did not take its rise, as the viceroy had 
been informed, near the town of Tehuantepec; and 
that, on ascending it beyond the cataract, even as far 
as the old desembarcadero of Malpasso, they were still 
more than twenty-six leagues distant from the shores 
of the South Sea. They observed that a chain of 
mountains, of very inconsiderable height, divides the 
waters between the gulf of Mexico and the gulf of 
Tehuantepec. This small eordillera stretches from 
east to west, from the Cerros de los Mixes, formerly 
inhabited by a wild and warlike tribe * towards the 
elevated table-land of Portiila de Petapa. The en- 
gineer, Cramer, affirms, however, that to the south 
of the village of Santa Maria de Chimalapa, the 
mountains form a groupe rather than an uninterrupted 
chain, and ' that there exists a transversal valley, in 
which a canal of communication might be cut between 
the two seas.' This canal, which would unite the 
Rio de Chimalapa with the Rio del Passo (or Mal- 
passo), would be only six leagues in length. The boats 
would ascend the Rio Chimalapa, which affords a very 
easy navigation from Tehuantepec to the village of 
San Miguel ; and from thence, they would pass by the 
canal projected in th« time of Count de Revillagigedo, 
to the Rio del Passo. This river discharges itself 
into the Rio de Huasacualco near the Bodegas de la 
Fabrica ,•- but its navigation is extremely difficult on 
account of the seven rapids (raudales) which are 

* " Cartas de Cortez, p. 372." 



138 MEXICO. 

counted between its source and the mouth of the Rio 
de Saravia. 

" It would be of infinite importance again to order 
this ground to be examined by intelligent engineers, 
to determine whether, as was believed by M. Cramer, 
the canal betiveen the two seas can be executed with- 
out locks, or without inclined planes, and whether, by 
blowing up the rocks with powder, the beds of the 
rivers Passo and Chimalapa can be deepened. The 
Isthmus is rich in cattle, and would, from its great 
fertility, supply valuable productions for the commerce 
of Vera Cruz. The fine plains of Tehuantepec would 
be susceptible of irrigation from the Rio de Chimalapa : 
in their present state, they produce a little indigo and 
cochineal of a superior quality. 

" Before setting on foot, in the Islands of Cuba and 
Pinos, the felling of cedar and acajou wood (cedrela 
odorata and swietenia mahogany), the dock -yards of 
the Havannah drew their wood for ship-building from 
the thick forest which covers the northern slope of 
the Cerros de Petapa and Tarifa. The Isthmus of 
Tehuantepec was at that time very much frequented, 
and the ruins of several houses which are still to be 
seen on the two banks of the river Huasacualco, are to 
be dated back to that period. The cedar and acajou 
wood was embarked at the Bodegas de Malpasso. 

" To avoid the seven rapids of the Rio del Passo, a 
new port (desembarcadero) was established in 1798, at 
the mouth of the Rio de Saravia : the salt provisions 
(tasajo) of Tehuantepec, the indigo of Guatimala, and 
the cochineal of Oaxaca, were conveyed by this way to 
Vera Cruz and the Havannah. A road has been 
opened from Tehuantepec, by Chihuitan, Llano Grande, 
Santa Maria Petapa, and Guchicovi, to the new port 
of La Cruz. They reckon this road thirty -four 



MEXICO. 139 

leagues. The productions destined for the Havannah 
do not descend to the mouth of the Rio Huasacualco, 
or to the small port of that name, hecause they are 
afraid of exposing their canoes to the north winds, 
during the long passage from the bar of Huasacualco 
to the port of Vera Cruz. They disembark the goods 
at the Passo de la Fabrica ; and from thence they are 
conveyed on the backs of mules, by the village of Aca- 
yucan to the banks of the river San Juan, where they 
are again embarked in large canoes, and transported 
by the bar of Tlacatalpan to the port of Vera Cruz." 

By this road, which was completed in the year 
1800, the river Guasacualco forms a commercial com- 
munication, though an imperfect one, between the 
two oceans. When Spain was at war with Great 
Britain, the indigo of Guatimala was brought by way 
of this isthmus to the port of Vera Cruz, whence it 
was exported to Europe ; but the carriage of goods on 
the back of mules, from Tehuantepec to Vera Cruz, 
by Oaxaca, was, in 1804, as high as thirty piasters 
(61. 6s.) per load; and the muleteers took three 
months in accomplishing the journey, though the dis- 
tance is not 75 leagues in a straight line. By way of 
the isthmus and the river Guasacualco, Humboldt 
states, nearly half the expense of carriage, and seventy 
days, might be saved. 

The mouth of the Guasacualco has already been 
referred to as one of the four points to which it was 
proposed to transfer the commerce of Vera Cruz ; * and 
it would seem to be by far the most eligible. The 
inhabitants of Oaxaca have long been bent on this 
favourite object. So far back as the year 1745, a me- 
morial was presented to the viceroy by several distin- 

* Vol. i. p. 354. 



140 MEXICO. 

guished Creoles, praying him to represent to the court 
of Madrid, the immense benefits to the kingdom that 
would result from making Guasacualco a port of entry, 
and the grand commercial depot, instead of Vera 
Cruz. This memorial, a copy of which Mr. Robinson 
saw when at Oaxaca, in 1816, after giving a topogra- 
phical description of the isthmus, and expatiating on 
the beauty and fertility of the country, explicitly 
declares, that the projected canal is a feasible measure. 
It then goes on to state, that, should political reasons 
forbid its formation, a road might be cut across the 
ridge, by which property could be transported in 
carriages at a moderate expense. The memorial was 
transmitted to the Spanish Government ; but " the 
Cadiz monopolists and the Philippine Company 
viewed with alarm a project that threatened to divert 
the trade out of its ordinary channels. The mercan- 
tile establishments they had formed at Acapulco and 
Vera Cruz, and the expensive edifices they had erected 
at those places, would become valueless in proportion 
as this should be effected. These parties, therefore, 
and their agents in Mexico, put in action every 
engine of intrigue in order to defeat the wishes of the 
Oaxaca memorialists. The memorial was placed 
among the secret royal archives at Madrid ; that is, it 
was laid on the shelf of oblivion ; and the only notice 
ever bestowed on it, was an order from the Court, 
prohibiting the parties from ever reviving the subject 
under pain of the royal displeasure ; and severely re- 
primanding, or stigmatising the Oaxaca memorialists, 
as audacious innovators of the established regulations 
and commerce of the kingdom."* . The Count de 
Revillagigedo himself is stated to have incurred the 

* Robinson's Memoirs, vol. ii. p. 301. 



MEXICO. 141 

displeasure of the cabinet, by favouring the project of 
a water communication between the two rivers. 

The harbour of Guasacualco is stated by Mr. Ro- 
binson to be the most spacious and secure of any on 
the Atlantic coast. " It is," he says, " the only port 
in the Mexican Gulf, where vessels of war and others 
of a large size can enter,* and is far superior either to 
Pensacola or Espiritu Santo. There are, at all sea- 
sons, on the bar at the mouth of the port, twenty -two 
feet water ; and it is said, that, during the flood of the 
river, the bar occasionally shifts, and affords passages 
in five and six fathoms water. Some years ago, a 
Spanish ship of the line, called the Asia, crossed the 
bar of Guasacualco, and anchored in the port. The 
river is navigable for vessels of the largest size, to 
within twelve leagues of the navigable waters of the 
Chimalapa and Tehuantepec. The latter river admits 
vessels drawing twenty feet water. It was on this 
river that Cortes constructed ships, when he sent 
Pedro de Alvarado to conquer Guatimala." The ex- 
pedition of Fernando de Grixalva to California, in 
1534, sailed also from Tehuantepec ; and in like man- 
ner, the vessels in which Cortes embarked at Cha- 
metla, in the following year, were constructed at the 
mouth of the Chimalapa, of materials brought by the 
river Guasacualco ; so early had this part of the coast 
attracted the attention of the Spaniards. One of these 
vessels was lost in crossing the bar of St. Francis, on 
leaving the laguna of Santa Theresa. The topography 

* See p. 24 of the present volume. This gentleman mentions, on 
hearsay information, a port, which he calls Matagorda, as the hest 
to the north of Vera Cruz : it is, he says, in lat. 28° 3C, about half 
way between the rivers Sabine and Del Norte, and has twenty feet 
on the bar. No such port is mentioned by Humboldt, but he con- 
fesses that this part of the coast had never been accurately explored. 
The latitude is that of the entrance to the Day of St. Bernard. 



142 MEXICO. 

of the isthmus of Tehuantepec, however, Humboldt 
remarks, (and he might have added, the hydrography 
of the whole coast,) is altogether unknown in Europe. 
The memorial of the Oaxacan citizens speaks of a 
number of valuable ports on the coast of this inten- 
dancy, which are set down, indeed, in Humboldt's map, 
but respecting which nothing is known. They par- 
ticularly mention, Mr. Robinson says, besides Tehu- 
antepec, San Diego, Santa Cruz de Guatulco, Caca- 
lutla, San Augustin, Puerto de los Angeles, Escondido, 
and the bay of Mazuntla. u The port of Escondido 
(hidden port) has," it is added, " a narrow but excel- 
lent entrance, which is only discovered on a very near 
approach to the coast ; it is as spacious as Acapulco, 
and would afford perfectly secure moorings for hundreds 
of vessels. It could easily be fortified, so as to render 
it impregnable to external attacks. The port of Santa 
Cruz de Guatulco, likewise, is equal to any on the 
shores of the Pacific, and is situated only 35 leagues S. 
of the city of Oaxaca." 

Of the feasibleness of a canal between the two 
rivers, this Traveller entertains little doubt. By 
some extraordinary convulsion of nature, he states, 
vast chasms or ravines have been formed among the 
mountains which traverse the isthmus ; and during 
the rainy season, these chasms contain a vast body of 
water, which seeks its discharge by rivers flowing into 
either ocean. " The Indians of the isthmus, parti- 
cularly those of Tabasco and Tehuantepec, assert that 
they pass with their canoes entirely through the 
isthmus. We endeavoured, while at Oaxaca, to ascer- 
tain this fact, and are convinced, that when the 
waters are at their height during the rainy season, a 
canoe may pass, by the sinuosities of the ravines, from 
the Guasacualco to the rivers Chimalapa and Tehuan- 



MEXICO. 143 

tepee. We will not positively assert that a navigable 
canal may be formed so as to unite the .waters of these 
three rivers, but we believe it practicable." No 
doubt, however, he adds, can exist, " that a good 
carriage road might be made, of from twelve to four- 
teen leagues, along the sides of the mountains, by 
which every species of merchandise could be trans- 
ported with ease, in a few hours, from the waters of 
the Chimalapa to those of the Guasacualco." By this 
means, the passage of the isthmus might, he calculates, 
be effected in less than six days. A steam-vessel could 
perform the voyage from Tehuantepec to Canton, in 
less than 50 days, and might get from the same port to 
the mouth of Colombia river, in from 18 to 24 days. 
The voyage from Philadelphia to Guasacualco would 
occupy six days. Thus, by means of steam-boat navi- 
gation, Mr. R. reckons, that a voyage from the United 
States to China might be performed in less than 
sixty-three days, the route being shortened by a fourth ; 
and from Philadelphia to Colombia river, on the north- 
west coast, in from thirty to thirty-six days, a distance 
being saved of more than two-thirds. These calcula- 
tions would ■ at one time have appeared extremely 
visionary : they now require only to be verified. 

The population of Tehuantepec, Mr. Robinson adds, 
are among the most active and healthy race of Indians 
in the country. " The Indian females may properly 
be styled the Circassians of Southern (Central) Ame- 
rica. Their piercing eyes give to their countenance 
an extraordinary animation ; their long black hair is 
neatly plaited, and adorned with combs, made of gold 
or tortoise-shell ; while the celerity and grace of their 
movements strike a stranger with astonishment. They 
are very industrious, and manufacture nearly all their 
own clothing. They are remarkable for their cleanli- 
k 2 



144 MEXICO* 

riess, and are fond of bathing." The Spanish Govern- 
ment, during the recent revolution, looked upon 
these Indians with a jealous eye, in consequence of 
their known predilection for the insurgents. The 
vicinity of the town to the sea-coast, and its being 
situated on a navigable river, were circumstances that 
gave the Government much uneasiness, because they 
were aware, that if a foreign enemy should land on the 
coast of Oaxaca, they would be received with open 
arms by the Indians of Tehuantepec, and, indeed, by 
the greater part of the population of the whole pro- 
vince. 

The intendancy of Oaxaca, continues Mr. Robinson, 
" not only possesses an immense population, but 
is of the highest importance for its valuable produc- 
tions. It is the region of New Spain that appears the 
most favourable to the production of the important 
article of cochineal. In no other part of Mexico does 
the nopal (on which tree the cocliineal insect subsists) 
flourish so well. Its propagation has been unsuccess- 
fully attempted in various other provinces ; but not 
only do the climate and soil appear peculiarly adapted 
to this plant in Oaxaca, but the Indians have, by a 
long course of practice, acquired so much experience in 
the manner of cultivating the nopal, and collecting the 
insects, as to preclude all rivalship in any of the other 
provinces. In some years there have been produced, 
in Oaxaca, four hundred thousand pounds weight of 
cochineal : this is worth in Europe, even during peace, 
about one million six hundred thousand dollars. 
During war, it has frequently sold in England at 
twenty-five shillings sterling per pound. The poor 
Indian who collects this precious commodity, barters it 
for manufactured goods to the Spanish shop-keepers in 
the villages. The extortion of these men, together with 



MEXICO. 145 

the exactions of the Government and the priesthood, 
leave .to the Indian a miserable return for his care and 
industry ; but we have no doubt, that if these unjust 
and unnatural restrictions on the labour of the natives 
were removed, the intendancy of Oaxaca would, in a 
very few years, produce above a million of pounds of 
cochineal per annum. 

" The mountains of this intendancy, particularly 
those of the Misteca, are likewise peculiarly adapted 
to the growth of the mulberry -tree. Many years ago, 
the experiment was made, and it succeeded so well, 
that it awakened the jealousy of the European Spa- 
niards; and they created so many obstacles to the 
manufacturing of silk in Oaxaca, that the Indians 
became exasperated, and in one night destroyed every 
mulberry -tree in the intendancy ; since which time no 
attempts have been made to renew its culture. 

" The indigo of the district of Tehuantepec, is supe- 
rior in quality to that of Guatimala ; but, as there are 
no ports open to foreign commerce along the coast of 
the Pacific Ocean, in the vicinity of Tehuantepec, nor, 
indeed, on any part of the coast of Oaxaca, the inha- 
bitants have not been stimulated either to the culture 
of that, or of the cotton-plant, or of the sugar-cane, 
except so far as is absolutely necessary to supply their 
own immediate consumption. 

" In all the mountainous districts of Oaxaca, and 
more especially in the spacious valleys which are situ- 
ated from twenty-five hundred to six thousand feet 
above the level of the sea, we find a soil and climate 
at least equal, if not superior, to any on the globe. 
There is not a single article raised in the temperate 
zone, that would not here find a congenial region. 
Wheat and all kinds of grain yield a return to the 
cultivator, equal to that of the most fertile parts of 



146 MEXICO. 

Europe. The fruits and vegetables of Oaxaca are un- 
rivalled for luxuriance and delicacy. Peaches, pears, 
apricots, and strawberries, are here to be found of a 
size and flavour superior to those of the south of 
France ; and the variety and excellence of the grape 
point out the valleys of Oaxaca as the great future 
vineyards of New Spain. Asparagus, artichokes, tur- 
nips, cabbages^ and all the various productions of hor- 
ticulture, grow to a size and perfection we have never 
beheld elsewhere. 

" To all these important natural advantages of this 
favoured country, must be added that of its mineral 
productions. Some of the most valuable gold mines 
of New Spain are in this province ; but they have not 
yet been extensively worked, inasmuch as the atten- 
tion of the directors of the mining establishments in 
Mexico has been principally directed to the mines of 
Guanaxuato, and of other provinces, silver mines 
being considered more profitable than those of gold. 
The Indians of the Upper and Lower Misteca, as well 
as those of the district of Tehuantepec, collect grains 
of gold in the beds of the rivulets that flow through 
the mountains ; and larger masses of gold have been 
found in Oaxaca, than in any other part of New 
Spain. Indications of silver ore are, likewise, disco- 
verable in all the mountainous districts ; but as yet, . 
scarcely any attention has been paid to them. In fact f/ 
there cannot be a doubt that this province abounds In 
all the precious minerals ; and when the use of ma- 
chinery shall be introduced, and the restrictions on 
human industry and enterprise be removed, this pro- 
vince will yield as much gold and silver as any other 
in America. It is worthy of remark, likewise, that 
copper and iron ore have been found in different parts 
of Oaxaca. In the village of Ytuikuitlan, there is a 



MEXICO. 14? 

large piece of metal, which the blacksmiths of the 
place use as an anvil. It was found on the summit of 
a hill near the village, and is of an extraordinary 
weight for its dimensions. Various attempts have 
been made to fuse it, but it has resisted the most 
intense heat." 

This mass of metal is termed, in some manuscript 
notes, drawn up by generals Teran and Bustamente, 
platina ; a metal which, according to Humboldt, has 
never yet been discovered in any part of America 
north of Panama. Mr. Robinson says : " The mine- 
ralogists will of course pronounce it to be impossible, 
and we are content." Whatever the metal may be, 
the fact is curious, and the statements of this intelli- 
gent American, being drawn from native sources, 
merit attention. It will not be long before the topo- 
graphy of this valuable province will be better known 
to us. No part of Mexico is more accessible than this 
province. According to Mr. Robinson, an army could 
march in 48 hours from the port of Guasacualco to 
the table-land of Oaxaca. We trust that no invading 
army will ever be allowed to make such an experiment ; 
but British and American merchants and travellers 
may ere long be able to report as to the practicability 
of the route. 

It only remains to give some account of the great 
peninsula of Yucatan, situated between the bays of 
Campeachy and Honduras, which forms the inten- 
dancy of 

MERIDA. 

This province, which is separated, on the south-west, 
by the Rio Baraderas or de los Lagartos (lizards),* 

* The mouth of this river is stated to be in lat. 21° 34/ N. ; long. 
90° 30' 15" W. of Paris. 



148 MEXICO. 

from the intendancy of Vera Cruz, is bounded on the 
south by Chiapa and Vera Paz in Guatimala ; and on 
the west, by the English establishments, which extend 
along the eastern coast, from the mouth of the river 
Hondo to the north of Hanover Bay, opposite the 
island of Ubero (Ambergris key). Cape Catoche, its 
north-eastern point (in lat. 21° 30'), is only 51 leagues 
distant from Cape San Antonio, the western extremity 
of the island of Cuba, which is supposed at a remote 
period to have formed part of the American continent. 
The northern coast of Yucatan is observed to follow 
exactly the direction of the " current of rotation" or 
gulf stream. The peninsula consists of a vast plain, 
intersected from N.E. to S.W. by a chain of hills of 
small elevation. " The country which extends east 
from these hills towards the bays of Ascension and 
Espiritu Santo, appears to be the most fertile part, 
and was the earliest inhabited. The ruins of Euro- 
pean edifices in the island of Cozumel,* in the midst 
of a grove of palm-trees, indicate that that island, 
now uninhabited, was, at the commencement of the 
conquest, peopled by Spanish colonists. Since the 
settlement of the English between Omoa and the 
Rio Hondo, the Government, to diminish the con- 
traband trade, concentrated the Spanish and Indian 
population in that part of the peninsula which is 
west of the mountains of Yucatan. Colonists are 
not permitted to settle on the eastern coast, on the 
banks of the Rio Bacalar and Rio Hondo ; and all this 
vast country remains uninhabited, with the exception 
of the 'presidio of Salamanca.'" 

The extent of the intendancy of Merida, is stated at 
nearly 6000 square leagues ; the population, in 1803, 

* See vol. i. p. G. 



MEXICO. 149 

at 465,800, being only 81 to the square league ; and 
this in one of the healthiest, though one of the warm- 
est provinces of equinoctial America. This calcula- 
tion, however, does not include the several Indian 
tribes who have preserved their independence in the 
southern part of the mountain district, which is ren- 
dered almost inaccessible by thick forests and the lux- 
uriance of tropical vegetation. The only towns in 
this intendancy mentioned by Humboldt, are Merida, 
Campeche, and Valladolid. 

Merida de Yucatan, the provincial capital, is situ- 
ated ten leagues in the interior, in the midst of an 
arid plain : the population is estimated at 10,000. Its 
small port is called Sizal, situated to the west of Cha- 
boana, opposite a sand-bank nearly twelve leagues in 
length, in lat. 21° 19' N., long. 92° 19' 45" W. of 
Paris. Campeche has a resident population of 6000. 
The port, formed by the mouth of the Rio de San 
Francisco, is not very secure, and vessels are obliged 
to anchor a great way from the shore. It derives its 
name from two words in the Maya language ; cam 
signifying serpent, and peche, the garapata insect 
(acarus), both of which, it may be inferred, annoy the 
inhabitants. It stands in lat. 19° 50' 45" N., long. 
92° 50' 45" W. Between Campeche and Merida are 
two very considerable Indian villages, called Xampo- 
lan and Equetchecan. Valladolid is a small town, sur- 
rounded with extensive cotton -plantations. 

The chief exports, besides the famous Campeche 
wood, are cotton and wax. The trees which fur- 
nish this wood, ( hcematoxylon campechianum^j grow 
in abundance in several districts of this inten- 
dancy. The cutting takes place once a year, on 
the banks of the river Champoton, the mouth of 
which is to the south of Campeche, within four leagues 



150 MEXICO. 

of the small village of Lerma. " It is only with the 
special permission of the intendant of Merida," Hum- 
boldt says, " that the merchant can from time to time 
cut down Campeche wood to the east of the mountains, 
near the hays of Ascension, Todos los Santos, and 
Espiritu Santo, where the English carry on an exten- 
sive and lucrative contraband trade." After being 
cut down, the wood must dry for a year, before it can 
be sent to Vera Cruz, the Havannah, or Cadiz. The 
tree is not peculiar to Yucatan and Honduras, but is 
found scattered throughout the forests of the equinoc- 
tial regions, wherever the mean temperature of the 
air is not below 71° of Fahrenheit. The climate of 
Merida does not admit of the cultivation of European 
grain, but the inhabitants cultivate maize and the 
manioc root. 

Humboldt attributes the salubrity of the climate in 
this intendancy to the extreme dryness of the soil and 
atmosphere. From Campeche to Cape Catoche, the 
navigator does not find a single spring of fresh water ; 
but, on the northern coast, a very remarkable pheno- 
menon occurs. At the mouth of the Rio de los La- 
gartos, 1300 feet from the shore, springs of fresh water 
spout up from amidst the salt water. They are called 
the boccas (mouths) de Conil. The learned Traveller 
supposes that, by some strong hydrostatic pressure, the 
fresh water, after bursting the calcareous rock, between 
the clefts of which it has flowed, is made to rise above 
the level of the salt water. The same phenomenon is 
found in the bay of Xagua, off the Island of Cuba. 

The name of New Spain was at first given (in 1518) 
only to the peninsula of Yucatan. Grijalva, who 
landed here the year before the expedition of Cortes, 
was astonished at the cultivation of the fields and 
the beauty of the Indian edifices. Cortes afterwards 



MEXICO; 15 i 

extended the name to the whole empire of Montezuma. 
Yucatan was never subject, however, to the Aztec 
sultans. The first eonquerors were struck with the 
advanced civilisation of the inhabitants. They found 
houses built of stone, cemented with lime, pyramidal 
edifices (teocattis), which they compared to Moorish 
mosques, fields enclosed with hedges, and the people 
clothed. Many ruins, particularly of sepulchral mo- 
numents, are still to be discovered to the east of the 
small central chain of mountains. The language 
spoken by the Indians of this intendancy is the Maya, 
which is extremely guttural, and of which there exist 
four tolerably complete dictionaries. The intendant 
of Merida bore the title of captain-general of Yucatan, 
and appears to have been in some degree independent 
of the viceroy, it being recognised as a distinct territory. 

We have now completed our survey of the twelve 
intendancies and the three provinces into which, by 
the latest arrangement under the colonial system, 
Mexico was divided. We have been compelled to 
adhere to that arrangement, and to preserve the name 
of intendancies, although, by the recent political 
changes, these terms have been rendered obsolete, 
and the distribution of the provinces has been some- 
what modified. The present arrangement, however, 
can hardly be considered as definitive. For instance, 
the interior eastern provinces will not ultimately re- 
main consolidated into one state ; Texas will probably 
be annexed to Louisiana, and Santander and Leon 
will detach themselves from Cohahuila. Then, again, 
Durango and New Mexico cannot eventually remain 
united, nor will the latter be always dependent for its 
supplies on the southern provinces. On the other 
hand, Queretaro and Tabasco seem scarcely entitled 

PART IV. L 



152 MEXICO. 

to rank as separate states. The latter, if detached 
from Vera Cruz, might unite with Chiapa.* Other 
changes will be introduced both in the Mexican 
Federation and that of the Central States. As Chiapa, 
however, though usually comprehended in Guatimala, 
has adhered to Mexico, and now forms an integral part 
of that republic, it may be proper, before concluding 
our description of the latter country, to give some ac- 
count of it in this place. 

CHIAPA. 

This state, formerly an intendancy of Guatimala, 
is bounded, on the north, by Tabasco ; on the north- 
east, by Yucatan ; on the east, by Totonicapan and 
Suchiltepec ; on the west, by Oaxaca and Vera Cruz ; 
and on the south, by the Pacific Ocean. It is 
about 250 miles in length from east to west, and 90 
miles in its extreme breadth, lying between lat. 14° 
40', and 17° 30' N., and long. 93° 16', and 95° 46' W. 
It contains 1 city, 1 town, 109 villages, and 128,000 
inhabitants.-)- " What now forms the intendancy of 
Chiapa," says a native historian, to whom we shall 
have occasion to make frequent reference hereafter, 
" was, in the period of its paganism, divided into five 

* We regret that we have not more accurate information on the 
subject of the present arrangement. The enumeration given by 
Mr. Poinsett as taken from the •« Constitutive Act of the Mexican 
Nation," apparently omits the important province of Guadalaxara, 
while it includes, as a separate state, Xalisco, a place not any where 
mentioned by Humboldt ; only, in his map, we find the port of 
Xalisco Matanche on the coast of that intendancy, near the Cerro 
del Valle, in lat. 21°. If this place be important enough to give its 
name to the State, it is marvellous that it should never before have 
been heard of. No geographical order is observed in the enume- 
ration. 

t Juarros's Hist, of Guatimala, p. 21. 



MEXICO. 153 

provinces, peopled by as many different nations, who 
have, to the present day, preserved their distinct 
idioms; viz. Chiapa, Llanos, Tzendales, Zoques, and 
Soconusco. Of the last, the Spaniards formed the 
government of Soconusco, and of the other four, the 
qlcaldia mayor of Ciudad Real. By a royal order in 
the year 1764, the latter was again subdivided to form 
the alcaldia mayor of Tuxtla, which was composed of 
the districts of Chiapa and Zoques, while those of 
Llanos and Tzendales remained to Ciudad Real. In 
1790, the intendancy of Chiapa was created, and these 
three divisions were re-united under the jurisdiction 
of the intendant, who resides in Ciudad Real, and has 
a deputy at Tuxtla, Soconusco, and Comitan."* The 
district of Soconusco, however, has been, by the recent 
arrangements, again constituted a separate govern- 
ment ; and the above description will not strictly 
apply to the State of Chiapa, which, instead of reach- 
ing to the shores of the Pacific, is bounded by Soco- 
nusco on the south, and must be considered as wholly 
an inland province. It has already been stated, that 
this province, lying contiguous alike to Mexico and 
the Central States, was claimed by both ; and that, 
the option being given to the inhabitants, Chiapa 
declared its wish to join the Mexican union, while the 
district of Soconusco adhered to the Central Federa- 
tion. Thus, the province has been divided between 
the two Republics. The history of Soconusco abounds 
with vicissitudes. That district was the first into 
which Pedro de Alvarado penetrated, and the first 
Indian villages that were reduced by him to the 
Spanish dominion, were on this part of the coast. In 
former times, it was one of the most populous and 

» Juarros's Hist, of Guatemala, p. 14. 



154 MEXICO. 

opulent districts in the kingdom of Guatimala. Its 
ancient capital, from which the province took its 
name, situated between the villages of San Domingo 
de Escuintla and Acacozagua, contained a numerous 
population, among whom were 200 Spaniards ; but 
upwards of two centuries have elapsed since this 
extensive town fell to decay, and became at length 
entirely abandoned. For some time after the establish- 
ment of the audiencia of Guatimala, Soconusco re- 
mained under the jurisdiction of that of Mexico. By 
an edict of Jan. 20, 1553, it was annexed to the royal 
chancery of Guatimala. When that court was trans- 
ferred to the city of Panama, Soconusco reverted to 
the audiencia of Mexico ; but, in Jan. 15G9, another 
edict restored it to Guatimala. It is supposed to have 
belonged originally to the diocese of Tlascala ; on the 
creation of the see of Guatimala, it was annexed to 
that see ; for a short time it was transferred to the 
bishopric of Vera Paz, but was soon restored to Gua- 
timala ; and finally, in 1596, it was transferred to the 
bishopric of Chiapa. Its separation from Chiapa 
will probably lead to another ecclesiastical change, 
unless, which is not unlikely, it should be superseded 
by the re-annexation of the district to the State of 
Chiapa, as a part of the Mexican Union. 

Ciudad Real, or Chiapa dos Espagnos, the capital of 
the intendancy and an episcopal city, is situated in 
the plain of Gueizacatlan, about 200 miles from the 
Pacific Ocean, and 130 leagues N.W. of the city of 
Guatimala: lat. 16° 35' N. ; long. 94° 16' W. The 
population is inconsiderable, consisting of less than 
4,000 inhabitants, an eighth of whom are Indians. 
The city contains but one parish, that of the cathe- 
dral ; but there are four convents, a nunnery, a church 
dedicated to Our Lady of Charity, two other chapels 



MEXICO. 155 

without the walls, and five for the Indians, one in 
each of their barrios or wards. The Jesuits had also 
a college here. The town was founded by Diego de 
Mazariegos in 1528, with a view to keep in subjection 
the province which he had with difficulty recovered, 
after the revolt of the natives in 1526. It was at first 
called Villa Real ; for a short time it bore the name 
of San Christoval de los Llanos; but, by an edict 
dated July 7> 1536, the Emperor Charles the Fifth 
ordered the name to be changed to Ciudad Real, and 
granted it all the honours and privileges of a city. It 
is a place of some trade. In its vicinity are several 
caverns, in which are found some very beautiful 
stalactites. 

San Bartolomt de los Llanos, the chief place in the 
district so called, is a large village, containing two 
churches, with a population, including the surrounding 
plantations, of 7,400 souls. San Jacinto Ocosingo, 
the chief place in the district of Tzendales, contains 
above 3,000 inhabitants. San Domingo Comitan, the 
residence of the deputy-intendant, has a population of 
nearly 7,000, including the plantations. The Domi- 
nicans have a good convent here. San Domingo Sina- 
cantan is a very ancient village, containing about 
2,000 inhabitants. It formerly belonged to the Mexi- 
can empire. In its vicinity are found " small steel- 
coloured stones, of a cubical figure, and two or three 
lines in length, called St. Anne's stones," which are 
believed to have medicinal virtues : " it is asserted, 
that persons suffering under hysterical affections 
receive relief from drinking water in which they have 
been boiled." San Juan Chamula is a large village ; 
the population exceeding 6,000 persons. San Fer- 
nando de Guadalupe, a village on the bank of the 
river Tulija, nine leagues from Tumbala, was founded 



156 MEXICO. 

by the intendant of the province, in 1794, with the 
view to facilitate the navigation of the river, and, by 
its means, to open a communication with Campeche, 
the lake of Terminos, Carmen, and other contiguous 
points. It contains a few Spanish and Mulatto fami- 
lies, and about 200 Indians. The soil is fertile, and 
adapted to the cultivation of the cane, pepper, and 
cocoa. Tuxtla, the residence of the deputy -intendant 
of the district to which it gives its name, contains " a 
custom-house, a post-office, and a tobacco-manufac- 
tory.' ' The population consists of a few Spanish fami- 
lies, and some mulattoes, but the greater part are 
Indians, amounting altogether to between 4 and 5,000 
souls. This place is 18 leagues from Ciudad Real, 
and 140 leagues from Guatimala. Tecpatlan, the 
chief place in the district of Zoques, contains about 
2,300 inhabitants. But the largest place in the whole 
province is Chiapa dos Indios, a very ancient village, 
founded in 1527. It is advantageously situated in a 
valley near the banks of the river Tabasco, in lat. 17° 
5' N., long. 93° 53' W. ; about 3G miles W. of Ciudad 
Real, and 358 miles S.E. of Mexico. The inhabitants 
are chiefly Indians, but they are reported to be rich, 
and a great deal of sugar is grown in the district. 
They are said to amount to about 4,000 families.* 
During the day, the heat is excessive, but the nights 
are cold. This place enjoys many privileges, and will 
probably rise in importance. We find it, indeed, 
denominated in Aleedo's Dictionary, a city. 

The climate of this intendancy is for the most part 
hot and moist, but there are large tracts of rugged, 



* Don D. Juarros states the population at 1,568 inhabitants. 
Unless this be an error of the press for 15,680, the discrepancy U 
unaccountably great. 



MEXICO. 157 

mountainous country, covered with forests of cedar, 
cypress, pine, and walnut-trees. Extensive woods are 
found also in the lower region, which ahoundwith the 
American lion (miztli), the jaguar or ounce, the wild 
boar, parrots of great beauty, and great numbers of ser- 
pents. Goats, sheep, and pigs, of the European breed, 
have multiplied in this province to a remarkable degree ; 
and the breed of horses is so much esteemed, that 
colts are sent to Mexico. The chief productions are 
cotton, cocoa, maize, cochineal, honey, and aromatic 
gums. Our information with regard to this province 
is very vague and imperfect, but it is evident that a 
very small proportion of it has been brought under 
cultivation. The population does not amount to quite 
five-sixths of that of Vera Cruz, which contains only 
38 inhabitants to every square league, but is about 
twice as large. It appears, however, to have been, 
prior to the conquest, the seat of an advanced civi- 
lisation, and to have been well peopled. Near the 
village of San Domingo Palenque, on the borders of 
Yucatan, are considerable vestiges of an Indian capi- 
tal, which were accidentally discovered about the 
middle of the last century, in the midst of a fertile 
and salubrious tract of country, almost entirely depo- 
pulated. These remains, although both their anti- 
quity and their architectural beauty have been ab- 
surdly magnified, are highly interesting, and merit 
the attention of future travellers. " This metropolis," 
says Don Domingo Juarros, the historian of Guati- 
mala, " like another Herculaneum, not indeed over- 
whelmed by the torrent of another Vesuvius, but con- 
cealed for ages in the midst of a vast desert, remained 
unknown until the middle of the eighteenth century, 
when some Spaniards having penetrated the dreary 
solitude, found themselves, to their great astonish- 



158 MEXICO. 

ment, within sight of the remains of what had once 
freen a superb city, six leagues in circumference. The 
solidity of its edifices, the stateliness of its palaces, 
and the magnificence of its public works, were not 
surpassed by the vastness of its extent : temples, altars, 
sculptures, and monumental stones, bear testimony to 
its vast antiquity." The hieroglyphics and emblems 
found here, are represented by the learned historian 
as bearing so strong a resemblance to those of the 
Egyptians, that he is strongly inclined to ascribe them 
to a colony of that nation ! 

The marvellous report brought back by the first 
discoverers having reached the ears of the Spanish 
Government, a royal mandate was issued in May 
1786, directing a further examination of these ruins; 
and Captain Don Antonio del Rio was appointed by 
the Captain-general of Guatimala, to carry the man- 
date into execution. Being provided with a corps of 
Indian pioneers, he proceeded to the spot ; but he had 
first to open a road to the " Palencian city," and a 
fortnight was occupied with felling and firing the 
timber with which the ruins were inaccessibly sur- 
rounded. Having succeeded by this means in obtain- 
ing not only a clear path, but a wholesome atmosphere 
for his further operations, he set to work on the 
Casas de Piedras, as the ruins are called ; and ulti- 
mately, he says in his Report, " there remained nei- 
ther a window nor a doorway blocked up, a partition 
that was not thrown down, nor a room, corridor, 
court, or tower, unexplored, nor a subterranean passage 
in which excavations were not effected from two to 
three yards in depth." The original manuscript 
document in which Don Antonio gives an account of 
his proceedings, was brought to light not many years 
^o^ in an examination of the public archives of the 



MEXICO. 159 

city of Guatimala. It has since been made public in 
the shape of an English translation, together with the 
learned commentary of Doctor Paul Felix Cabrera, of 
New Guatimala, who is still more confident than his 
fellow-citizen as to their Egyptian origin.* Don 
Antonio's description of the site is as follows. 

64 From Palenque, the last town northward in the 
province of Ciudad Real de Chiapa, taking a south- 
westerly direction, and ascending a ridge of high land 
that divides the kingdom of Guatimala from Yucatan 
or Campeche, at the distance of two leagues is the 
little river Micol, whose waters flowing in a westerly 
direction, unite with the great river Tulija, which 
bends its course towards the province of Tabasco. 
Having passed the Micol, the ascent begins ; and at 
half a league from thence, the traveller crosses a little 
stream called Otolum, discharging its waters into the 
before-mentioned current. From this point, heaps of 
ruins are discovered, which render the road very diffi- 
cult for another half league, when you gain the height 
on which the Stone Houses are situated, being fourteen 
in number, some more dilapidated than others, but 
still having many of their apartments perfectly dis- 
cernible. 

" A rectangular area, three hundred yards in 
breadth by four hundred and fifty in length, presents 
a plain at the base of the highest mountain forming 
the ridge ; and in the centre is situated the largest 
of these structures which has as yet been discovered. 
It stands on a mound twenty yards high, and is sur- 
rounded by the other edifices, namely, five to the 
northward, four to the southward, one to the south- 



* " Description of the Ruins of an Ancient City, discovered near 
PalenqiAC, in the Kingdom of Guatemala" &c. 4to. London, 1822. 
L 2 



160 MEXICO. 

west, and three to the eastward. In all directions, 
the fragments of other fallen buildings are to be seen 
extending along the mountain, that stretches east and 
west, about three or four leagues either way ; so that 
the whole range of this ruined town may be computed 
to extend between seven and eight leagues. But its 
breadth is by no means equal to its length, being little 
more than half a league wide at the point where the 
ruins terminate, which is towards the river Micol, that 
winds round the base of the mountain, whence descend 
small streams that wash the foundation of the ruins 
on their banks ; so that, Avere it not for the thick um- 
brageous foliage of the trees, they would present to 
the view so many beautiful serpentine rivulets." 

The rivers abound with turtle and the smaller shell- 
fish, and running to the east, north, and west, afford 
the utmost facility to inland traffic. An abundance 
of wild fruit-trees, the sapote, the plantain, the agua- 
cate, the camote, and the cassava, indicate what the 
soil would yield under proper cultivation. Under the 
largest building there runs a " subterranean aqueduct, 
built of stone, of great solidity." The description 
given of the Casas de piedras is vague and confused, 
and has the further disadvantage of appearing in a 
very indifferent translation ; but, in the absence of 2t* 
more accurate account, it may not be unacceptable to 
the reader. 

" The interior of the large building is in a style of 
architecture strongly resembling the Gothic ; and, 
from its rude and massive construction, promises great 
durability. The entrance is on the eastern side, by a 
portico or corridor thirty-six yards (varas) in length 
and three in breadth, supported by plain rectangular 
pillars, without either bases or pedestals, upon which 
there are square smooth stones of more than a foot in 



MEXICO. 161 

thickness, forming an architrave ; while on the ex. 
terior superficies are shields of a species of stucco ; and 
over these stones, there is another plain rectangular 
block, five feet long and six broad, extending over two 
of the pillars. Medallions or compartments in stucco, 
containing different devices of the same material, 
appear as decorations to the chambers ; and it is pre- 
sumable from the vestiges of the heads which can still 
be traced, that they were the busts of a series of kings 
or lords to whom the natives were subject. Between 
the medallions there is a range of windows like niches, 
passing from one end of the wall to the other : some 
of them are square, some in the form of a Greek cross, 
being about two feet high and eight inches deep. 
Beyond the corridor there is a square court, entered 
by a flight of seven steps. The north side is entirely 
in ruins, but sufficient traces remain to shew that it 
once had a chamber and corridor similar to those on 
the eastern side, and which continued entirely along 
the several angles. The south side has four small 
chambers, with no other ornament than one or two 
little windows like those already described. The 
western side is correspondent to its opposite in all 
respects but in the variety of expression of the figures 
in stucco : these are much more rude and ridiculous 
than the others, and can be attributed only to the 
most uncultivated Indian capacity. The device is a 
sort of grotesque mask with a crown and long beard 
like that of a goat, under which are two Greek crosses, 
one within the other. 

" Proceeding in the same direction, there is another 
court, similar in length to the last, but not so broad, 
having a passage round it that communicated with 
the opposite side : in this passage there are two cham- 
bers like those above mentioned, and an interior gal- 



162 MEXICO. 

lery, looking on one side upon the court-yard, and 
commanding on the other a view of the open country. 
In this part of the edifice, some pillars yet remain, on 
which are relievos apparently representing the sacri- 
fice of some wretched Indian, the destined victim of a 
sanguinary religion. 

" Returning by the south side, the tower presents 
itself to notice : its height is sixteen yards ; and to 
the four existing stories of the building * was perhaps 
added a fifth with a cupola* These stories diminish 
in size, and are without ornament. The tower has a 

well-imitated artificial entrance Behind the four 

chambers already mentioned, there are two others of 
larger dimensions, very well ornamented in the rude 
Indian style, and which appear to have been used as 
oratories. Beyond these oratories, and extending from 
north to south, are two apartments, each twenty- 
seven yards long by little more than three broad ; 
they contain nothing worthy of notice, excepting a 
stone of an elliptical form, embedded in the wall, 
about a yard above the pavement, the height of 
which is one yard and a quarter, and the breadth one 
yard. Below this stone, is a plain, rectangular block, 
more than two yards long by one yard four inches 
broad, and seven inches thick, placed upon four feet 
in form of a table, with a figure in bas-relief, in the 
attitude of supporting it. Characters or symbols 
adorn the edges of the table. At the extremity of 
this apartment, and on a level with the pavement, 
there is an aperture like a hatchway, two yards long 
and more than one broad, leading to a subterranean 
passage by a flight of steps, which, at a regular 
distance, forms flats or landings, each having its 

* There arc only three floors in the subjoined etching. 



MEXICO. 163 

respective doorway ornamented in front. Other 
openings lead to this subterranean avenue. On reach- 
ing the second door, artificial light became necessary 
to the descent into this gloomy abode, which was by 
a very gentle declivity. It has a turning at right 
angles; and at the end of the side-passage, there is 
another door, communicating with a chamber sixty- 
four yards long, and almost as large as those before 
described. Beyond this room there is still another, 
similar in every respect, and having light admitted 
into it by some windows commanding a corridor * 
fronting the south, and leading to the exterior of the 
edifice. Neither bas-reliefs nor any other embellish- 
ments were found in these places, nor did they present 
to notice any object, except some plain stones, two 
yards and a half long by one yard and a quarter broad, 
arranged horizontally upon four square stands of 
masonry, rising about half a yard above the ground. 
These I consider to have been receptacles for sleeping. 
Here all the doors terminated. 

" On an eminence to the south is another edifice, 
of about forty yards in height, forming a parallelo- 
gram, and resembling the first in the style of its 
architecture. It has square pillars, an exterior gal- 
lery, and a saloon twenty yards long by three and a 
half broad, embellished with stucco medio -reliefs, 
representing female figures with children in their 
arms, all of the natural size : these figures are without 
heads. In the inner wall of the gallery, on each side 
of the door leading into the saloon, are Jjfciree stones, 
three yards in height and upwards of one in breadth, 



* How this consists with its subterraneous position, we cannot 
explain: there is probably some error. 



164 MEXICO. 

covered with hieroglyphics in bas-relief. The whole 
of this gallery and saloon are paved. 

" Leaving this structure, and passing by the ruins 
of many others, which were probably accessory to the 
principal edifice, the declivity conducts to an open 
space, whereby the approach to another house in a 
southerly direction is rendered practicable East- 
ward of this structure are three small eminences form- 
ing a triangle, upon each of which is a square build- 
ing, eighteen yards long by eleven broad, of the same 
architecture as the former, but having, along thin 
roofings, several superstructures about three yards 
high, resembling turrets, covered with ornaments and 
devices in stucco. In the interior of the first of these 
three mansions, at the end of a gallery almost en- 
tirely dilapidated, is a saloon having a small chamber 
at each extremity. In the centre of the saloon is an 
oratory, rather more than three yards square, pre- 
senting on each side of the entrance a perpendicular 
stone, whereon is portrayed the image, of a man in 
bas-relief. The outward decoration is confined to a 
sort of moulding, finished with small stucco bricks, 
on which are bas-reliefs. The pavement of the oratory 
is quite smooth, and eight inches thick. On perfo- 
rating it in order to make an excavation, I found, 
about half a yard deep, a small round earthen vessel, 
about a foot in diameter, fitted horizontally with a 
mixture of lime to another of the same quality and 
dimensions. The digging being continued, a quarter 
of a yard beneath we discovered a circular stone of 
rather larger diameter than the first articles ; and on 
removing this, a cylindrical cavity presented itself, 
about a foot wide and the third of a foot deep, con- 
taining a flint lance (lance-head ?), two small conical 



MEXICO. 165 

pyramids with the figure of a heart in dark crystallised 
stone, (known by the name of challa,) and two small 
earthen jars with covers, containing small stones and 
a ball of vermilion." 

The two other edifices are of similar architecture, 
divided internally in the same manner ; and here also, 
the Don states, were found, by excavating under what 
he calls the oratories, a flint lance or lance -head, two 
conical pyramids with the representation of a heart, 
and two earthen jars, On digging in other parts, 
they found small pieces of challa " in the shape of 
lancets or razor -blades," and a number of small bones 
and teeth, which, together with specimens of the 
masonry, and representations of the principal bas- 
reliefs, were forwarded by Don Antonio to the com- 
mandant-general, in order to be transmitted to 
Europe. 

Among the seventeen plates which accompany the 
English translation, there is but one that exhibits any 
of the edifices. In this is represented a square build- 
ing with two receding stories, which has apparently 
been carried higher. This we presume to be the 
tower referred to. There are square windows within 
arched niches, rudely cut ; and between each story, 
a sort of frieze or ledge runs round the building. 
Branches of trees appear to have forced their way 
through the walls. The other plates contain repre- 
sentations of the bas-reliefs. These consist chiefly of 
figures in varied dresses and attitudes, and with dif- 
ferent accompaniments, but all more or less decorously 
clothed, with caps or helmets adorned with flowers, 
pearls, and sundry nondescript ornaments. Necklaces 
and strings of pearls are a conspicuous decoration of 
most of the figures. But the most striking peculiarity 
in these representations is, the physiognomy of the 



166 MEXICO. 

countenances, which is of one strongly marked cha- 
racter, though the individuals differ. A prodigious 
development of feature, especially of that which would 
be called the nose, but which in these personages 
comes nearer to a beak, is common to all of them ; in 
almost all, the chin recedes not less remarkably than 
the proboscis protrudes ; while some of the visages 
have the additional recommendation of being fearfully 
under-hung. This is especially the case with an old 
priest in a cap and apron, who holds an infant in 
his arms, doubtless with no very good purpose. In 
one of the plates, a figure whom we take to be a 
deity, is seated on a curious sort of throne, with one 
leg brought up into the lap, and the other depending, 
very much after the fashion of some of the Hindoo 
celestials, who prefer very odd and uncomfortable 
postures. This personage is very significantly point- 
ing upwards with the fore-finger of the left hand, 
while the middle finger of the right is brought to rest 
emphatically upon the thumb, like a person talking 
with his fingers. The throne is .ornamented with an 
enormous head and claw of an animal on each side of 
it ; and perched on these heads are two undefined 
imp-like forms, with something resembling a flame 
proceeding from their forehead. In the next plate, a 
medallion of inferior execution represents a personage 
adorned with ear-rings, necklace, and bracelets, but 
no clothing except round the waist, seated a la Turque 
on a two-headed monster, and receiving a present 
from a full-dressed figure in a kneeling attitude. A 
smaller medallion, in the rudest style, represents a tree 
with a serpent twining round the trunk, and a bird 
perched on a branch hard by ; and another presents a 
naked youth kneeling, and looking into the open jaws 
of a monstrous head, while another pair of tusks are 



MEXICO. 167 

protruding at his back. It is observable, that none 
of the figures have a martial character, nor have they 
any weapon at all resembling a sword. But what the 
strange instruments are which they hold, or what they 
are engaged in, and what is the import of the strange 
hieroglyphics flourished round the largest drawing, 
we are unable to tell.* All the figures are beardless. 
The protruding under-lip is so much out of nature, 
that it suggests the idea of an artificial extension ; 
and one might imagine that these personages set the 
fashion of wearing the botoque. One of the figures 
has, suspended from the neck, a very pretty orna- 
ment, which seems meant for an image of the sun. 
Other drawings are referred to in the Report, 
though they did not find their way with the MS. 



* Doctor Paul Felix Cabrera, however, with an ingenuity and pe- 
netration truly marvellous, finds out the whole history of America 
in these rude representations, and tells us who the personages are> 
as readily as if they had all been his patients. The principal figure, 
it seems, is no other than Votan, great-grandson of Noah, who was 
the first man sent by God to America " to divide and portion out 
these Indian lands." He was not only a great prince, but an his- 
torical writer ; and an account of his birth, parentage, and adven- 
tures, drawn up by himself, fell into the hands of the bishop of 
Chiapa, Don Francesco Nunez de la Vega, author of the " Dio- 
cesan Constitutions," printed at Rome in 1702, who was led to 
withhold it from the public only by his religious scruples, «« on 
account of the mischievous use the Indians made of their histories 
in their superstition of naguatism," or demonology. It is much to 
be regretted, as the Doctor very sapiently observes, " that the 
place is unknown where these precious documents of history were 
" deposited." But a still more lamentable loss to the world has been 
sustained in the destruction, by the hands of the same orthodox 
but over-zealous prelate, of certain large earthen vases containing 
figures in stone of the ancient Indian Pagans, which the unerring 
testimony of tradition ascribed to the same worthy American 
patriarch, and which consequently must have been the most 
ancient pottery now to be met with. 



168 MEXICO. 

to the publisher, representing serpents, lizards, sta- 
tues of men with palms in their hands, others beat- 
ing drums and dancing, &c. &c. 

. According to the testimony of a monk of Merida, 
who gave the account to Captain Del Rio, about 
twenty leagues south of that city are found the 
remains of similar edifices, the largest of which is in 
good preservation. Eight leagues to the northward 
of Merida are ruined walls of other stone-houses, 
which increase in number in an easterly direction. 
At Mani on the Rio de los Lagartos, is u a very 
ancient palace," resembling that at Palenque, which 
was for some time inhabited by the Franciscans while 
their convent was building : in the centre of the prin- 
cipal area stands a conical pillar or pyramid of stones. 
On the road from Merida to Bacalar occur many 
other buildings. These are evidently the pyramidal 
edifices which struck the Spanish conquerors with so 
much surprise on their first landing in the peninsula 
of Yucatan, and which they compared to Moorish 
mosques. There can be no doubt of their sepulchral 
character, although they may have answered, like 
other ancient monuments, the double purpose of 
temples and tombs. The province of Chiapa would 
thus seem to have received its aboriginal population 
from the same source as the peninsula of Yucatan ; 
and if the language spoken by the Indians should 
prove to be the Maya, (a point which we must look to 
some future traveller to ascertain,) there will be no 
room for hesitation in referring these monuments of 
ancient civilisation to a race distinct from the Aztec, 
and bearing more affinity to the Zapotec Indians 
of Oaxaca. The Cyclopean masonry of the Cholulan 
builders, differs scarcely less specifically from the 



MEXICO. 169 

architecture of Mitla and Palenque, than the temples 
of Nubia from the pyramids of Gheeza. 

CONCLUSION. 

We must now take leave of this interesting portion 
of the New Continent, — the most interesting per- 
haps, in respect of its physical features, its natural 
curiosities, and the monuments of its ancient civilisa- 
tion. To Mexico and Peru alone, of all the coun- 
tries in the western hemisphere, belongs a traditional 
history stretching back into an undefined antiquity, 
and connecting the present generation with an an- 
cestry greater than themselves. Rude and insignifi- 
cant as are the Mexican pyramids and sepulchres in 
comparison of the stupendous works of Theban and 
Persepolitan architects, and comparatively modern as 
is their supposed date, they have an interest peculiar 
to themselves, arising from their being the only 
monuments of man in these extra-mundane regions 
(as the whole continent might be termed in relation 
to the world of history), and from their obvious 
affinity to those which superstition and despotic 
power have erected in the Old World.* What they 
want as works of art, they acquire as moral pheno- 
mena. Among the nations who have disappeared in 
the Old World, it is the conjecture of Humboldt, that 



* " A small number of nations, far distant from each other, the 
Etruscans, the Egyptians, the Thibetians, and the Aztecs, exhibit 
striking analogies in their buildings, their religious institutions, 
their division of time, and their mystic notions, — analogies which 
are as difficult to explain as the relations that exist between 
the Sanscrit, the Persian, the Greek, and the languages of German 
origin." — Humboldt's Researches \ vol. i. p. 11. 



170 MEXICO. 

the remains of some may yet be preserved in the 
scanty tribes who are dispersed through the vast soli- 
tudes of America. That hitherto it has been found 
impossible to ascertain the period when the communi- 
cation between the two continents was first esta- 
blished, can waken no surprise, when it is considered 
how totally ignorant we are of the early history 
of those Asiatic nations to whom the Toltecs, the 
Aztecs, the Muyscas, and the Peruvians present the 
nearest analogies. " No historical fact, no tradition," 
says the learned Traveller, " connects the nations of 
South America with those that inhabit the countries 
north of the Isthmus of Panama." And yet, their phy- 
siological affinity is not more decisively marked than 
the analogies found in their institutions and history. 
" Men with beards, and of lighter complexions than 
the natives of Anahuac, Cundinamarca, and the ele- 
vated plain of Cuzco, make their appearance without 
any indication of the place of their birth ; and, bearing 
the titles of high -priests, of legislators, of the friends 
of peace and the arts which flourish under its auspices, 
operate a sudden change in the policy of nations, who 
hail their arrival with veneration. Quetzalcoatl, 
Bochica, and Manco Capac, are the sacred names 
of these mysterious beings. Quetzalcoatl, clothed in 
a black, sacerdotal robe, comes from Panuco on the 
shores of the Gulf of Mexico. Bochica, the Buddh of 
the Muyscas, presents himself on the high plains 
of Bogota, where he arrives from the savannas which 
stretch along the eastern foot of the cordilleras. 
Some learned men have pretended to discover that 
these strangers were shipwrecked Europeans, or the 
descendants of those Scandinavians who, in the 
eleventh century, visited Greenland, Newfoundland, 



MEXICO. m 

and perhaps Nova Scotia ; * but a slight reflection on 
the period of the Toltec migrations, on the monastic 
institutions, the symbols of worship, the calendar, 
and the form of the monuments of Cholula, of Soga- 
mozo, and of Cuzco, leads us to conclude, that it 
was not in the north of Europe that Quetzalcoatl, 
Bochica, and Manco Capac framed their code of laws. 
Every consideration leads us rather towards Eastern 
Asia, — to those nations who have been in contact 
with the inhabitants of Thibet, to the Shamanist Tar- 
tars, and the bearded Ainos of the isles of Jesso and 
Sachalin."f 

The annals of the Mexican empire appear to go 
back as far as the sixth century of the Christian era, 
— the epoch of the emigration of the Toltecs from the 
banks of the Rio Gila* Even this era is antecedent to 
the rise of Mohammedism, and the earliest authentic 
records of Arabian history. But when we consider 
the strong instinctive disposition of semi-civilised na- 
tions to perpetuate, by mechanical imitation, the same 
forms, and to adhere in all their works to a primitive 
type or model, — a disposition remarkably character- 
istic of the tribes of Eastern Asia, — these monuments 
of the ancient Mexicans would seem to carry us back 
to a period far more remote than their actual construc- 

* The learned Author himself, however, remarks in another 
place : " They who have studied the history of the Scandinavian 
nations in the heroic times, must be struck at finding in Mexico a 
name ( Votan, or Vodan) which recals that of Wodan, or Odin:* 
According to the learned researches of Sir William Jones, Odin and 
Boudha, or Buddh, are probably one and the same person ; and 
it is curious to observe, remarks M. Humboldt, ** that the names 
of Boud-var, WodarCs-dag (Wednesday), and Votan, denote in India, 
in Scandinavia, and in Mexico (Chiapa), a day of a small period." 
These coincidences, however, are fallacious data for reasoning,— 
See Researches, vol. i. pp. 173, 319. 

t Researches, vol. i. pp. 29, 30. 



172 MEXICO. 

tion. In them we doubtless have the fac-similes of the 
works of their Asiatic ancestry ; and viewed in this 
light, they serve as legendary records, embodied tradi- 
tions of a primeval race. Their specific date becomes 
but a starting-post from which imagination takes her 
flight into the fabulous regions of history. 

Various interesting topics of inquiry suggest them- 
selves relative to the remarkable concentration of 
population, as well as of civilisation, in the central 
regions of America ; — the successive emigrations 
which must have taken place at remote intervals ; — 
the distinctive features of the hunter, pastoral, and 
agricultural tribes of America ; — and the probable 
course of the great stream of population southward, 
till we reach the shores of the mighty Amazons, 
which seems the limit of aboriginal civilisation. These 
subjects, however, lie far out of our province, and we 
refer to them merely with a view to furnish hints to 
future travellers. 

The mineral treasures of Mexico form, at the pre- 
sent moment, its strongest attraction ; and owing to 
the influx of foreign capital which they are occasion- 
ing, the Mexican mines may prove indirectly, what 
mines have rarely proved, the sources of national 
prosperity. We have endeavoured to convey the 
amplest information on this point that we at present 
possess, and shall have occasion to recur to the subject 
before we close the volume. To the eye of the 
philanthropist, however, or of the enlightened poli- 
tician, neither the mines, nor the monuments, nor 
any of the physical phenomena of Mexico, constitute 
the chief interest of this rising country. The sudden 
apparition of the volcano of Jorullo itself, is not a 
more striking event in the natural history of the 
globe, than is the formation of a connected chain 



MEXICO. 173 

of federal republics in the two Americas, in its moral 
history. Unhappily signalised as their birth has been 
by devastation and terror, now that the convulsion 
has subsided, they will be found, we trust, to have 
supplied, as it were, the soil in which social institu- 
tions, the public virtues, and domestic charities shall 
strike deep and nourish. An immense responsibility 
has devolved on the present federal government, to 
whom it has been confided to conduct the grand social 
experiment to its issue. May the result justify the 
universal admiration which is entertained for the 
character of the truly patriotic president, — the Mexi- 
can Washington, and that of his brave and generous 
compeer ! And may the words not be forgotten with 
which the Traveller to whom both Mexico and 
Europe are so greatly indebted, concludes' his Political 
Essay, — " That the prosperity of the whites is inti- 
mately connected with that of the copper-coloured 
race ; and that there can be no durable prosperity for 
the two Americas, till this unfortunate race, humi- 
liated, but not degraded by long oppression, shall par- 
ticipate in all the advantages resulting from the 
progress of civilisation and the improvement of social 
order. " 



END OF MEXICO. 



GUATIMALA. 



PART IV. 



GUATIMALA.* 



[A Federal Republic, extending from about long. 81° 45' W. to 95° 
W., and from lat. 8° to 17° N. ; bounded, on the N.W. by 
Mexico; on the N. and E. by the Atlantic; on the S.E. by 
Colombia ; and on the S. and S.W. by the Pacific Ocean.] 

The kingdom of Guatimala u received its name from 
the word Quauhtemali, which, in the Mexican lan- 
guage, means a decayed log of wood, because the 
Mexican Indians who accompanied Alvarado, found, 
near the palace of the kings of Kachiquel, an old 
worm-eaten tree, and gave this name to the capital." 
Such is the statement adopted by Don Domingo 
Juarros, in his History of the Kingdom of Guatimala, 
as the true origin of the name. Some writers, how- 
ever, he tells us, have derived it from Uhatezmalha^ 
which signifies, in the Tzendale dialect, a mountain 
that throws out water, " alluding, doubtless, to the 
mountain on the skirts of which the city of Guatimala 
was built." With due submission to the historian, 
we incline to the latter etymology ; first, because it 
appears extremely unlikely that the name of the king- 
dom should not be more ancient than the Spanish 
conquest ; and secondly, because Alvarado would not 
have left it to Mexican Indians to name the city. 
The Aztec word Quauhtli signifies eagle, in which 
sense it occurs in composition in the words Quauhtin- 
ctyan, house of the eagle, (a Mexican city,) and 

* More properly Guatemala ; but we have adhered to the 
usual orthography. 



178 GUATIMALA. 

Quciihtemotzin, the name of the last sultan of 
Tenochtitlan. We cannot affirm that Quauhtemali 
may not signify a log Of wood, but, if it be really 
derived from an Aztec word, we should deem an 
etymology referring to the eagle far more plausible. 
The mountain affords, in all probability, the true 
derivation. Another etymology, however, is given by 
one historian, Francisco de Fuentes y Gusman, who 
derives the name from Coctecmalan, signifying " milk- 
wood," — a peculiar tree found only in the neighbour- 
hood of the supposed site of the original capital, where 
now stands the village of Tzacualpa. Lastly, Juarros 
suggests, that the word may possibly be merely a 
corruption of the name of Juitemal, the first king of 
Guatimala, as Quiche was named from Nimaquiche, 
and Nicaragua from the cacique of the same name. 
It is not quite clear, however, that the name of the 
territory has not, in some of these instances, led to the 
invention of a name for its sovereign ; and the 
existence of King Juitemal is not sufficiently esta- 
blished to afford a solid basis for this ingenious con- 
jecture. 

At the time of the conquest (A.D. 1524) this region 
is stated to have been well peopled by more than thirty 
distinct tribes, each governed by its own chief, and 
having its peculiar dialect. These tribes were con- 
tinually at war with each other, and the ancient 
distinctions are still perpetuated in the variety of 
languages and dissimilar customs which are found in 
the different provinces. The Mexican or Aztec lan- 
guage is spoken by the Pipil Indians, who are settled 
along the coasts of the Pacific, and by some other 
tribes ; besides this, no fewer than twenty-four 
dialects, peculiar to Guatimala, are still said to be 
spoken, the names of which are, the Quiche, the 



GUATIMALA. 179 

Kachiquel, the Zutugil, the Mam, the Pocomam, the 
Pupuluca, the Sinca, the Chorti, the Alaguilac, the 
Caichi, the Pochonchi, the Ixil, the Zotzil, the 
Tzendal, the Chapaneca, the Zoque, the Coxoh, the 
Chanabal, the Choi, the Uzpanteca, the Lenca, the 
Aguacateca, the Quecchi, and the Nahuate or Pipil. 
The Maya language is also spoken in Chiapa. " It 
is true," says Don Domingo Juarros, u there is 
a strong resemblance between some of the idioms; 
and the Indians of one tribe can understand those 
of another from analogy : these instances, however, 
are not very frequent, nor can the intercourse be 
maintained with sufficient clearness and precision 
to enable them to traffic with each other readily 
and satisfactorily." The learned Don labours with 
patriotic solicitude to shew, that his country was 
never subject to the Mexican sovereigns. The proofs 
he adduces are, first, that the Mexicans always com- 
pelled the inhabitants of the countries they conquered 
to adopt their language, but the Aztec is not the pre- 
vailing language in Guatimala ; secondly, that at the 
time of the conquest, the Spaniards found no open 
road from Mexico to Chiapa, but only narrow 
paths, in many places overgrown by vegetation. The 
latter is a very weak and insufficient argument. 
That there was an intercourse between the two coun- 
tries is indubitable, and there must therefore have 
been what the natives would call a road. According 
to the tradition recited by the learned Historian him- 
self, the Tulteca or Toltec Indians, the most powerful 
and civilised of all the nations of Guatimala, came 
originally from the neighbourhood of Tula, in the 
kingdom of Mexico. This emigration took place by 
direction of an oracle, in consequence of the great 
increase of the population, in the reign of Nimaquiche, 
M 2 



180 GUATIMALA, 

the fifth king of the Tultecas. " In performing tin's 
journey, they expended many years, suffered extra- 
ordinary hardships, and wandered over an immense 
tract of country, until they discovered a large lake 
(the lake of Atitan), and resolved to fix their habita- 
tions in a convenient place at a short distance from it, 
which they called Quiche, in commemoration of their 
king Nimaquiche (Quiche the Great), who died 
during their peregrination. " The time of this emi- 
gration, it is, of course, impossible to ascertain with 
precision. Nimaquiche was succeeded by his son 
Acxopil, from whom Kicab Tanub, the contemporary 
of Montezuma II., was the fourteenth in succession 
who reigned in Utatlan, the capital of Quiche. 
Allowing twenty years to a reign, this would carry 
back the foundation of the Toltec empire of Quiche to 
nearly the middle of the thirteenth century, about 
thirty or forty years after the arrival of the Aztecs in 
the valley of Mexico.* So far the accounts would 
seem to agree. Autzol, or Ahuitzotl, the eighth 
sultan of Tenochtitlan, is stated to have sent a special 
embassy to the kings of Quiche, Kachiquel, and 
Zutugil, with the professed object of establishing 
an alliance between the two kingdoms ; but those 
chiefs, suspecting the sincerity of his proposals, dis- 
missed the Aztec ambassadors, whom they regarded 
as no better than spies, with evasive answers and less 
than usual courtesy. The King of Quiche alleged 
that he could not understand their language : if .so, 
two hundred and fifty years must have produced a 
great change either in the dialect of Tenochtitlan or 
in that of Utatlan, as they must originally have been 
the same. The kings of both countries were of the 

* See vol. i, p. 39. 



GUATIMALA. 181 

same race. " It appears, too," says Juarros, " that 
these princes acknowledged the relationship, and 
maintained a communication with each other ; for it 
is related in a manuscript of sixteen quarto pages, 
which is preserved by the Indians of the village of 
St. Andres Xecul, that when Montezuma II. was 
made prisoner (by Cortes), he sent a private ambas- 
sador to Kicab Tanub, King of Quiche, to inform 
him that some white men had arrived in his states, 
and made war upon him with such impetuosity, that 
the whole strength of his people was unable to resist 
them ; that he was himself a prisoner surrounded with 
guards ; and, hearing it was the intention of the 
invaders to pass on to the kingdom of Quiche and 
subdue it, he resolved to send notice of the design, 
in order that Kicab Tanub might be prepared to 
oppose them. This," adds our historian, " is a 
strong proof of a good understanding having existed 
between the two kings ; for if Montezuma, watched 
as he was by his keepers, could contrive to despatch 
this messenger secretly to Kicab, there is no doubt 
that frequent intercourse took place between them in 
the time of peace and tranquillity." But if so, there 
must have been a road from one kingdom to the 
other; and the argument that Guatimala could not 
have been tributary to Mexico, because there was no 
means of keeping up a communication prior to the 
Spanish conquest, falls to the ground. Montezuma 
was the immediate successor of Ahuitzotl, whose 
ambassadors were sent home with so little ceremony, 
but who is stated, nevertheless, to have found the 
means of introducing into the country certain Mexi- 
cans in the character of traders, for the purpose of 
forming a party that might be useful in furthering 
his attempts at subjugating the kingdom. The good 



182 GUATIMALA. 

understanding between Ahuitzotl's successor and the 
King of Quiche remains unaccounted for. Either 
some amicable overtures must have subsequently been 
made by the Mexican sovereign with better success, 
or there must have taken place, transactions of a 
military nature, not, perhaps, to the honour of the 
Guatimalan monarchs. Nor is the argument less 
inconclusive, which Don Domingo founds on the diver- 
sity of dialects. The number of languages spoken in 
Mexico exceeds twenty, and many of them differ 
from each other far more remarkably than, as we 
suspect, the Quiche, Kachiquel, Zutugil, and Pipil, 
will be found to do from the Aztec. Nevertheless, as 
there is no positive proof that the kingdom of Guati- 
mala was ever subject to the Mexicans, we are quite 
willing to take for granted that its independence 
remained inviolate up to the period of the Spanish 
conquest. 

When the Toltecs arrived in Guatimala, they 
found the country already inhabited by various tribes, 
as, in Mexico, they were preceded by the Chichimecs 
and Ottomites. The remains of these aboriginal 
tribes, who appear to have been driven southward, 
are probably still in existence. The Toltec empire 
founded by Acxopil, afterwards subdivided into the 
lordships of Quiche, Kachiquel, and Zutugil, is said to 
have comprised the provinces of Solola, Chimalte- 
nango, Sacatepec, and part of Quezaltenango and 
Totonicapan. At the time of the Spanish conquest, 
a civil war was raging between the King of the Kachi- 
quels and the Zutugil monarch, which induced the 
former to call in the aid of those dangerous allies. 
" The fame of Cortes's exploits," we are told, 
" spread rapidly through the country, and soon 
reached the court of the Kachiquel kings, who, of 



GUATIMALA. 183 

their own free will, sent an embassy to him, offering 
to acknowledge themselves vassals of the King of 
Spain. The chief received the ambassadors with all 
the kindness and aifability so peculiar to him, treated 
them with every mark of distinction, and gave 
assurances that himself and all those under his com- 
mand would govern them with mildness in peace, and 
defend them against all enemies. Cortes sent Pedro 
de Alvarado, one of his officers who had been most 
active in the conquest of New Spain, to take pos- 
session of Guatimala, and receive the subjection of 
the native kings. He quitted the city of Mexico 
on the 13th of November, 1523, accompanied by 300 
Spaniards and a large body of auxiliaries, Mexicans, 
Tlascaltecs, and Cholulans. After a short detention 
in subduing the natives of Tehuantepec, who had 
revolted, he advanced, completed the conquest of 
Soconusco and Tonala, and arrived in the territory of 
the Quiches on the 24th of February, 1524." 

Kicab Tanub was engaged in a sanguinary war 
with the Zutugiles and the Mams, when the tidings 
reached him, that the Spaniards had arrived at the 
boundaries of Soconusco. On receiving this intelli- 
gence, he suspended further hostilities, and de- 
spatched messengers to the different kings and chiefs, 
inviting them to confederate for their common de- 
fence. The same spirit of rivalry and bitter ani- 
mosity, however, which led to the overthrow of the 
Mexican empire by a handful of Europeans, prevailed, 
on this occasion, over every patriotic feeling. The 
Kachiquel monarch openly declared himself a friend 
to the Teiiles, or gods, as the Spaniards were called ; 
and the king of the Zutugiles rejected the proposal 
with haughty contempt. At this crisis, Kicab fell 
sick and died. He was succeeded by his eldest 



184 GUATIMALA. 

son, Tecum Uinam, who had but little leisure to 
indulge in sorrow for his father's death, as every 
hour brought him advice of the enemy's approach. 
At length, information arrived, that the Spaniards 
had laid siege to Xelahuh (or Quezaltenango), the 
most important place in the kingdom, and which 
was garrisoned at this time by 80,000 Indians. 
Alarmed at their rapid progress, Tecum Umam quitted 
his capital at the head of an army of 70,000 men, 
and by the time he reached Quezaltenango, he 
was joined by several petty chiefs, so that he was 
able to marshal on the plain of Tzaccaha 232,000 
warriors. Here he fortified his camp with a wall 
of loose stones, strengthened by a deep fosse, which 
was lined with rows of poisoned stakes. The 
Spaniards, having traversed the province of Soco- 
nusco, entered the mountains, and captured the 
stronghold of Xetulul, or Sapotitlan ; they then pur- 
sued their march till, on arriving at the banks of 
the river Zamala, they found themselves vigorously 
attacked by a large body of Indians. The Spanish 
musketry soon threw the Quiches into confusion : 
three times they rallied, and renewed the attack 
with great fury, but at length, their leaders being 
slain, they fled with precipitation. The invaders 
now thought themselves secure from the assaults 
of the barbarians, but, on their beginning to ascend 
the steep ridge now called the Cerro de Santa Maria 
de Jesus, they found the summit covered with the 
enemy, who prepared to dispute the passage of the 
defile. Between the rivers Zamala and Olintepec, 
six actions took place, in all of which the Indians 
were defeated with great slaughter. That which 
was fought in the defile of the latter river, was 
the most desperate : its waters were reddened with 



GUATIMALA. 185 

the carnage, and received from that circumstance 
the name of Xiquigel, or river of blood. This was 
one of the severest conflicts in which the Spaniards 
had yet been engaged. After this victory, they 
remained for three days without further molestation 
from the natives, which afforded them time to recover 
from their great fatigues. On the fourth day, they 
advanced to Xelahuh, which they found abandoned ; 
and some stragglers who were brought in, reported 
that all the inhabitants had fled to the moun- 
tains. It was soon discovered, hoAvever, that all 
the force of the surrounding country had been col- 
lected to make another attack on the Spaniards. The 
army immediately quitted Xelahuh, and took up a 
favourable position on the plain. The cavalry, con- 
sisting of 135 men, was divided into two troops : 
Alvarado himself commanded the infantry. The 
Indian army was formed into two very strong divi- 
sions, one of which was headed by the monarch 
in person. " As soon as the contending parties 
came within reach of each other, a furious combat 
ensued. One of the Indian divisions, being attacked 
by the cavalry, was forced to abandon its position, 
and retire for support on the other, which was 
resolutely engaged with the infantry. On the de- 
feat of this first division, the cavalry rejoined the 
main body, where the general had, by several small 
detachments, been able to resist the force of Tecum 
Umam. The king personally attacked Alvarado, 
and wounded his horse so severely, that he was 
forced to dismount and procure another. Tecum 
Umam renewed his assault upon the general a 
second and even a third time, and, in the last en- 
counter, received a wound from a lance by the hand 
of Alvarado, of which he died almost immediatelv. 



186 GUATIMALA. 

The fury of the Indians was increased to madness on 
seeing their monarch fall : the discharge of pikes, 
arrows, and stones that followed, was more violent 
than any thing that had hitherto been witnessed. A 
critical moment was seized for attacking in close 
column, and that manoeuvre decided the fate of the 
day. The Indians, unable to make head against this 
solid body, yielded to despair, and broke away in the 
most precipitate flight, leaving the Spaniards com- 
pletely masters of the field. 

" Hopeless of being able longer to resist the con- 
querors by the force of their arms, they had recourse 
to stratagem and treachery, which was determined 
upon in a council of war held in Utatlan, by the King 
Chignauivcelut, son and successor of Tecum Umam. 
To put their design into practice, the king began by 
sending a solemn embassy to Alvarado with a valuable 
present of gold, to sue for peace and forgiveness for 
the past, and to offer submission to the Spanish 
monarch. The ambassadors entreated the general to 
visit the capital, where he might conveniently refresh 
himself after his late severe fatigues, and where the 
king was anxious to receive and entertain him with 
whatever his dominions could afford. Alvarado most 
anxiously desired to establish peace, and this invita- 
tion being considered as a favourable opportunity, he 
received the ambassadors with every mark of distinc- 
tion and kindness ; he promised to repair to Utatlan, 
and dismissed them with presents of some trifles of 
Spanish workmanship, that were held in the highest 
estimation by the Indians. On the following day, 
the army decamped for Utatlan, in the highest spirits, 
believing the demonstrations of the Quiches to be 
sincere, and supposing that the war was terminated. 
But, on entering the city, and observing the strength 



GUATIMALA. 187 

of the place, that it was well walled and surrounded 
by a deep ravine, having but two approaches to it ; 
the one by an ascent of twenty-five steps, and the 
other by a causeway, both of which were extremely 
narrow ; that the streets were but of trifling breadth, 
and the houses very lofty ; perceiving also that there 
were neither women nor children in the place, and 
that the Indians appeared greatly agitated, the soldiers 
began to suspect some deceit. Their apprehensions 
were soon confirmed by the Indians of Quetzal tenango, 
who accompanied the army. These had discovered, that 
the people of Utatlan intended that night to set the town 
on fire in order to destroy the Spaniards ; and that large 
bodies of them were concealed in the neighbouring 
defiles, who were, as soon as they saw the flames, to 
fall upon the Spaniards, as they endeavoured to escape 
from the fire. On gaining this intelligence, the troops 
observed the movements of the Utatlans very cau- 
tiously. They examined the houses, and ascertained 
that there was no preparation of victuals to regale 
them, as they had been promised ; but that there was 
in every place a great quantity of light, dry fuel, 
and other combustibles. Alvarado no longer doubted 
the correctness of the information. He assembled a 
council, represented to the officers the perilous situa- 
tion in which they were involved, and the immediate 
necessity of quitting the place. The troops were then 
collected, and, without any appearance of alarm, 
marched out in good order to the open plain ; pre- 
tending to Chignauivcelut and his caciques, that they 
quitted the city for the better accommodation of the 
horses, which were accustomed to feed at liberty in 
the fields. The king, with pretended courtesy, accom- 
panying the army to the plain, the general availed 
himself of this opportunity to make him a prisoner ; 

PART IV. N 



188 GUATIMALA. 

and after a trial, in which proofs of his treachery were 
adduced, he was sentenced to he hanged, and the 
punishment immediately inflicted. Neither the death 
of Tecum Umam and their principal leaders slain in 
battle, nor the ignominious execution of Chignauiv- 
celut, was sufficient to intimidate the fierce spirit of 
the Quiches ; on the contrary, it excited fresh ebul- 
litions of rage and animosity. They gave the signal 
to the troops that lay in ambush, and a general attack 
upon the Spaniards ensued. The army was assaulted 
simultaneously on all sides by powerful squadrons of 
the Indians. But Spanish bravery increased with 
increasing dangers. The artillery was brought into 
action, and made dreadful havoc in the enemy's ranks, 
who however maintained the contest with desperate 
valour for a short time ; but they were soon thrown 
into confusion. The leaders were unable to rally 
their troops against the destructive fire of the guns, 
and they abandoned a field already covered with heaps 
of slain. Some fled to their places of refuge, and 
others threw away their arms in token of submission, 
and surrendered themselves and their caciques to the 
generosity of their conquerors, who, by this victory, 
remained undisputed masters of the kingdom." 

This victory was gained on the 14th of May, 1524. 
A small chapel was hastily erected on the spot, and 
on the following day, which was the Pentecost, mass 
was celebrated ; and " thus commenced the Catholic 
worship in this region." Alvarado, we are told, un- 
willing to deprive the royal race of Tanub of their 
inheritance, raised to the throne Sequechul, the next 
in succession to Chignauivcelut. He remained at 
Utatlan for eight days, during which he sent out de- 
tachments to explore and reduce the surrounding 
country ; and in this interval, ambassadors arrived 



GUATIMALA. 189 

from Sinacam, King of the Kachiquels, tendering his 
allegiance, with offers of troops and other necessaries. 
Leaving Juan de Leon Cardona in command at Utat- 
lan, Alvarado set out for Guatimala, escorted by 2,000 
Kachiquels, who were employed to clear the road. 
The Spaniards were not without their misgivings 
respecting the intentions of these new allies, but they 
proved to be unfounded. Sinacam advanced to meet 
them in his litter, richly adorned with plumes of 
quetzal's feathers and ornaments of gold ; and the two 
chiefs proceeded at the head of their respective suites, 
by the route of Iztapa, to the capital, situated, accord- 
ing to Fuentes, at the place now called San Miguel 
Tzacualpa, which signifies " old town." Here the 
Spaniards were most hospitably entertained by the Gua- 
timalan monarch. After remaining here for some time, 
Alvarado again set out towards the village of Atitlan, 
to attack the Zutugiles. Taking their route by the 
villages on the coast, they overcame whatever force 
attempted to dispute their passage, until they arrived, 
on the 24th of July, at a place called Atmulunca, or 
Almolonga, " the water that springs up." " This 
situation," says Remesal, u pleased the Spaniards so 
much by its fine climate, the beauty of the meadows, 
delightfully watered by running streams, and particu- 
larly from lying between two lofty mountains, from 
one of which descended rills of water in every direction, 
while from the summit of the other issued volumes of 
smoke and fire ; that they determined to establish them- 
selves here, and, aided by the Mexicans and Tlascal- 
tecs, they erected the requisite quarters. On the 25th 
of July, the festival of St. James, the patron of Spain, 
the troops were mustered under arms, and marched to 
attend divine service with martial music, and repeated 



190 GUATIMALA. 

discharges of fire-arms. In this array, they proceeded 
to the humble church which had been constructed, 
where Juan Godines, chaplain to the army, said mass. 
This service finished, the whole body invoked the 
protection of the apostle, gave his name to the town 
they had founded, and dedicated to him the church 
that was to be built. The foundation of the new 
town was solemnized by the army with feasts and 
military rejoicings, that continued for three days." 
On the 29th of July, the alcaldes and regidors of the 
new city took their seats in council. On the 12th of 
August, another council was held, at which the public 
officers, with other persons to the number of ninety- 
seven, were registered as citizens. u With these 
formalities,' ' says Juarros, " the foundation of the 
city of San Jago de los Caballeros de Guatimala was 
completed."* 

Alvarado, either in person or by his lieutenants, 
governed the newly acquired territories in Guatimala 
from the year 1524, until 1541, the year of his death; 
for the first four years by commission from Cortes, 
and afterwards as governor and captain-general of 
the kingdom of Guatimala by commission from the 
Emperor Charles the Fifth, dated Dec. 18, 1527. On 
the death of Alvarado, a royal audiencia was esta- 
blished, by a decree dated Nov. 20, 1542, for the pro- 
vinces of Guatimala and Nicaragua, of which Alonzo 
de Maldonado was appointed president. It was 
ordered to hold its sittings in the town of Valladolid 
de Comayagua ; but this being deemed inconvenient, 
the royal permission was obtained for its removal to 
the city of Gracias a Dios, where the first session was 

* Juarros, pp. 125, G : 394—403. 



GUATIMALA. 191 

held in May 1544. In 1555, the tribunal was trans- 
ferred to the city of Guatimala. It was then for a 
short time removed to Panama, but, in 1569, the 
previous order was rescinded, and the audiencia was 
once more established at Guatimala. Philip II. en- 
larged its powers, and constituted it a pretorial court 
independent of the viceroy of Mexico. The jurisdic- 
tion of the royal chancery of Guatimala extended along 
the shores of the Atlantic, from the coast of Balize in 
the Bay of Honduras, to the Escudo de Veraguas, a 
small desert island off the coast of Veraguas, in lat. 
9° 21' N., and long. 82° 46' W. ; and, on the Pacific 
coast, from the bar of the river Parredon in the pro- 
vince of Soconusco, to the mouth of the river Boruca 
in that of Costa Rica. The river Chilillo was its 
boundary towards Oaxaca, and it extended to the dis- 
trict of Chiriqui towards the south-east, where the 
jurisdiction of Santa Fe de Bogota terminated. The 
territory comprised within these limits, is about 900 
miles in length ; * its breadth from sea to sea varies 
from 180 to upwards of 500 miles. The extent of 
surface is computed to be 200,500 square miles. The 
population, in 1778, according to a census taken by 
royal orders, amounted to 832,055 souls. In 1791, 
a considerable increase had taken place in some dis- 
tricts, and in 1800, it is supposed by Humboldt to 
have risen to 1,200,000 souls ; which, taking the ex- 
tent of surface at 26,000 square leagues, gives 46 in- 
habitants to the square league.-)- A still more recent 



* The " travelling distance " from the river Chilillo to Chiriqui, 
is estimated by Juarros at more than 700 Spanish leagues, or up^ 
wards of 3,000 English miles. 

t Humboldt, Pol. Essay, vol. iv. p. 322. 



192 GUATIMALA. 

account brings up the population to 1,300,000 ;* but 
in this, as well as in the preceding calculations, Chi- 
apa is included, the population of which is stated at 
128,000. 

The provincial divisions of Guatimala have varied 
with the changing circumstances of the country : the 
number of provinces has at one time been increased, 
at another time reduced, as new alcaldias mayor have 
been created, or several corregimientos have been 
united. At one period, there were as many as thirty- 
two provinces, of which four were distinguished as 
governments, viz. Comayagua, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, 
and Soconusco ; nine were alcaldias mayor, viz. San 
Salvador, Ciudad Real, Tegucigalpa, Zonzonate, Vera- 
paz, Suchiltepec, Nicoya, Amatique, and the real 
of San Andres de Zaragoza ; and eighteen were corre- 
gimientos, the corregidors of which were nominated 
by the audiencia. Such was the distribution of the 
kingdom in the seventeenth century ; but, about the 
year I GOO, the population of the province of Costa 
Rica being greatly diminished, four of the corregi- 
mientos were extinguished, and the divisions were 
annexed to that government : at the same time, four 
other corregimientos were shared between the govern- 
ments of Comayagua and Nicaragua. In the begin- 
ning of the eighteenth century, the alcaldias mayor of 
Amatique and San Andres were suppressed, and 
several new ones were created. By these and other 
changes, the thirty-two provinces were reduced to 
fifteen, one of which is styled a government, four are 
intendancies, eight are alcaldias mayor, and two are 
corregidorships. Five of the provinces are situated 

* Poinsett's Notes, p. 239. 



GUATIMALA. 193 

on the shores of the Pacific ; five on the Atlantic 
coast ; and five are inland. They are as follow : 

MARITIME PROVINCES ON THE COAST OF THE 
PACIFIC. 

1. Intendancy of Ctudad Real, or Chiapa. 

including (1) District of Ciudad Real. 

(2) Tuxtla. 

(3) Soconusco. 

2. Alcaldia-mayor of Suchiltepec. 

3. . Escuintla. 

4. ■ Zonzonate. 

5. Intendancy of San Salvador. 

including {1) District of Santa Ana. 

(2) San Salvador. 

(3) San Vicente. 

(4) San Miguel. 

MARITIME PROVINCES ON THE ATLANTIC COAST. 

6. Alcaldia-mayor of Vera Paz. 

7. Corregimiento of Chiquimula. 

8. Intendancy of Comayagua, or Honduras. 

including (1) District of Comayagua. 
(2) Tegucigalpa. 

9. Intendancy of Nicaragua, or Leon. 

including (1) District of Leon. 

(2) Matagalpa. 

(3) Realejo. 

(4) Subtiava. 

(5) — Nicoya. 

10. Government of Costa Rica. 

INTERIOR PROVINCES. 

11. Alcaldia-mayor of Totonicapan and Gueguetenango. 

12. Corregimiento of Quezaltenango. 

13. Alcaldia-mayor of Solola and Atitan. 

14. Chimaltenango. 

15. Sacatepec. 

Between the intendancies of Nicaragua and Comay- 
agua, lie two provinces peopled by uncivilised Indians 
of various nations, who are called indiscriminately 



194 GUATIMALA. 

Xicacs, Moscos, and Sambos. These provinces, which 
extend along the Atlantic coast from the river Aguan 
to the San Juan, are called by Juarros, the Provinces 
of Taguzgalpa and Tologalpa. They form part of the 
tract better known under the name of the Mosquito 
Shoi*e. The Mosquito Indians, as they are generally 
called, have always borne an inveterate dislike to the 
Spaniards. The Duke of Albemarle, when governor 
of Jamaica, fostered this dislike, and he invested one 
of the Indians with the office of chief of the Mosqui- 
toes, under the protection of England. But, by a 
convention between Great Britain and gpain, signed 
in London on the 14th of July, 178G, it was agreed 
on the part of his Britannic Majesty, that his subjects 
and other colonists who had hitherto enjoyed the pro- 
tection of England, should evacuate the country of 
the Mosquitos, as well as the continent in general, 
and the islands adjacent, without exception ; his 
Catholic Majesty pledging himself not to exercise any 
act of severity against the Mosquitos^ on account of 
the connexions which may have subsisted between the 
said Indians and the English. The town and territory 
of Poyais, where, a few years ago, some adventurers 
from this country attempted to establish an inde- 
pendent colony, are situated on the river Tinto, 
or Black river, which discharges itself into the 
Atlantic near Cape Camaron : they are included 
in Taguzgalpa, which, though nominally a part of 
Guatimala, has never actually been appropriated. So 
far his highness Gregor Macgregor, the self-styled 
cazique of Poyais, had some plea in justification of his 
trespassing on these shores. Poyais town is a paltry 
village of huts and log -houses, on the west side of 
Black river, about sixty miles inland. The river 
Aguan, which divides Taguzgalpa from Honduras. 



GUATIMALA. 195 

discharges itself about sixty miles to the westward 
of Cape Camaran : eastward, the province extends to 
Cape Gracias a Dios. Beyond that point, the tract of 
coast extending southward to the river Chagres, and 
including the province of Tologalpa, now belongs 
to the republic of Colombia ; and a decree of that 
government, dated Santa Fe de Bogota, July 5, 1824, 
declares all persons attempting to colonise that part 
of the coast liable to penal severities.* 

* The decree is as follows : «< Francisco de Paula Santander, 
General of Division of the Armies of Colombia, Vice-President 
of the Republic, &c. ■ — Inasmuch as it has come to the knowledge 
of the Government of the Republic of Colombia, that various 
individuals, resident hi foreign countries, have projected the foun- 
dation of establishments in a certain territory called Poyais, 
situate on the coasts of Mosquito; and considering that similar 
enterprises of unauthorised adventurers may be prejudicial to the 
interests of the Republic and to themselves, in virtue of the pro- 
visions of the 5th Article of the Fundamental, it is decreed as 
follows : 

'.* Art. 1. Is declared illegal every undertaking which has for its 
object the colonisation of any point of that part of the coast 
of Mosquito, from the Cape Gracias a Dios inclusive to the River 
Chagres, which belongs, in dominion and property, to the Republic 
of Colombia, in virtue of the formal declaration, made in San 
Lorenzo on the 30th of November, 1803, by which the said part of 
the coast of Mosquito is definitively adjoined to the ancient vice- 
royalty of Nueva-Granada, and separated from the jurisdiction of 
the captain-generalship of Guatimala, to which it previously be- 
longed. 

" Art. 2. It is declared also to all person or persons who, in con- 
travention of the former article, intend to found colonies or foreign 
establishments on the above-mentioned coast of Mosquito, up 
to Cape Gracias a Dios inclusive, that they incur the penalties to 
which those persons are subjected who violently usurp national 
property, and disturb internal peace and tranquillity, unless they 
have previously obtained the approbation and consent of the 
government, conformably to the laws. 

*« Art. 3. It is also declared, that the necessary approbation and 

consent to colonise the coast* of Mosquito, which is under the 

immediate jurisdiction of the Republic, or part cf it, not having 

N 2 



196 GUATIMALA. 

The ecclesiastical government of the kingdom of 
Guatimala consists of an archbishop and three suffra- 
gans. The immediate diocese of the archbishop of 
Guatimala, extending 214 leagues from west to 
east, comprises 108 curacies, besides others under the 
charge of the monastic orders, and 424 parochial 
churches : it was created an episcopal see by Pope 
Paul III. in 1534. The bishop of Leon has jurisdic- 
tion over the intendancy of Nicaragua and the 
government of Costa Rica : in his diocese are 
39 curacies and 88 parochial churches. The bishop 
of Ciudad Real has under his jurisdiction the 
whole of Chiapa, containing 38 curacies and 102 
parish churches. The fourth bishopric is that of 
Comayagua, comprising the intendancy of Honduras : 
it contains 35 curacies and 145 parish churches. The 
small district of Peten in Vera Paz, belongs to the 
diocese of the bishop of Yucatan. Both the eccle- 
siastical and the civil distribution of the country, 
however, will probably undergo considerable modi- 
fications under the new order of things. The greater 
part of the bishopric and intendancy of Chiapa has 
become united to Mexico ; part of Vera Paz is eccle- 
siastically annexed to Yucatan ; and Colombia has 
obtained, by the cession of Tologalpa, a large portion 
of Nicaragua and of the bishopric of Leon, including 
180 leagues of coast, the importance of which, in con- 
nexion with the projected communication between 
the two oceans by means of the river San Juan and 
the lake of Nicaragua, will be incalculable. Even- 
tually, Guatimala will probably be divided between 

been granted to any person within or out of the territory of the 
Republic, whatever person or persons, citizens or foreigners, 
attempt to affect it, will, ipsoflzcto, be subject to the consequences 
to which such illegal and unauthorised conduct exposes them." 



GUATIMALA. 19T 

Mexico and Colombia. The remainder of Nicaragua 
and Costa Rica will naturally fall to the share of the 
latter power, while the provinces to the northward 
and west of Cape Camaron, will more conveniently 
unite themselves to the Mexican States. We shall 
now proceed to give some further topographical details 
respecting this almost unknown portion of the New 
World. 

PROVINCES ON THE COAST OF THE PACIFIC. 

The intendancy of Ciudad Real has been described 
in the account of the Mexican States, with the excep- 
tion of the maritime district of Soconusco, which ex- 
tends fifty-eight leagues along the shores of the 
Pacific, from the plains of Tonala, in the district 
of Tehuantepec, to the river Tilapa, which divides it 
from Suchiltepec : its breadth, from the sea to the 
mountains, is about sixteen leagues. The climate is 
hot, the country level and fertile, yet, from want 
of hands, very little of the land is under cultivation. 
It is watered by fifteen rivers, and abounds in woods 
of the most valuable trees. The principal productions 
are indigo, vanilla, leche de maria (a valuable gum), 
pita (a species of flax), cotton, cocoa (the most 
esteemed of any in the kingdom), achiote, and a 
great variety of medicinal plants and drugs. But, in 
proportion as the valuable products of the earth in 
this beautiful country are numerous, the abundance 
of wild beasts and reptiles is so great, as to render it 
almost uninhabitable. Among these is a peculiar 
species of venomous wasp, called ahorcadores (hang- 
men), on account of the singular remedy which 
is believed to be the only means of averting the 
fatal effect of their sting : this is, u to plunge the 



198 GUATIMALA. 

sufferer immediately into the water, or to compress 
the throat in the manner of hanging, till he is nearly 
exhausted." The vernacular language of Soconusco 
is the Mam, but the natives generally speak the 
Spanish. The whole district contained, in 1778, 
only twenty villages and about 9,000 inhabitants, 
being less than a seventh part of the whole popula- 
tion of Chiapa. Yet, " this district," says Juarros, 
" which in the present day is so much neglected, was, 
in former times, one of the most populous and opulent 
in the kingdom. The cocoa produced in it is still 
considered as superior to that of any other place 
in the world. The ancient capital was the large 
town of Soconusco, from which the province took its 
name, situated between the villages of San Domingo 
de Escuintla and Acocozagua. Besides the Indian 
population, it was the residence of about 200 Spaniards. 
But upwards of two centuries have now elapsed since 
this extensive town fell to decay and was entirely 
abandoned. The same fate has attended many other 
villages of the district. Previously to the annexation 
of the province of Soconusco to the intendancy of 
Ciudad Real, it was distinguished as a government, — 
a title given to the largest provinces only, and which 
sufficiently shews the estimation in which it was 
held." 

To the west of Soconusco, proceeding along the 
coast, lies the alcaldia-mayor of Suchiltepec. It ex- 
tends in length thirty-two leagues, and the breadth 
from the sea to the mountains is twenty-two leagues ; 
but all the villages are comprised within the space 
of twelve leagues. The whole province contains 
only sixteen villages, and the inhabitants of these, 
of the salt-works, the farms, and the manufac- 
tories, do not exceed 27,000. Yet, the climate, 



GUATiMALA. 199 

though warm, is less so than that of Soconusco, 
and the province is equally fertile^ being well- 
wooded, and watered by sixteen rivers : it pro- 
duces all the fruits, timber, gums, and medicinal 
plants, peculiar to the tierras calientes. The chief 
article of commerce is cocoa, which is reckoned 
quite equal, if not superior to that of Soconusco : 
the inhabitants trade also in cotton and sapuyul^ 
the kernel of the sapote. " This is a fruit about 
six inches in length : the kernel, which is from 
two to three inches long, is enclosed in a shell 
like a filbert, and round the shell is a pulp of a 
fine scarlet colour, as beautiful to the eye as it 
is delicious .to the taste : over this there is a hardish 
rind. The Indians mix the sapuyul with cocoa to 
make chocolate. The abundance of sapotes is so great 
in this province, that the fruit is thrown away to 
obtain the sapuyul, of which the consumption is so 
general, that, in Quezalttenango alone, the sale" of it 
amounts to between four and five thousand dollars 
annually." 

The principal places in this province are : San An- 
tonio Suchiltepec, the ancient capital, now an insig- 
nificant village, but with a large and handsome 
church : San Bartolome Mazatenango, the present 
capital, situated in lat. 14° 20' N. ; long. 92° 26' W. ; 
population between 2 and 3,000 : San Lorenzo el Real, 
remarkable only for the pilgrimages made by the 
people of the surrounding provinces to visit the image 
of Nossa Senhora de la Candelaria in its church : and 
the two adjacent villages of San Antonio Relaluleuh 
and Santa Catherina Sacatepec, which form the most 
commercial place in. the province, serving as a depot 
for the productions of Soconusco and Tehuantepec. 



200 GUATIMALA. 

The language generally spoken by the natives, is the 
Quiche dialect. 

The third province, following the line of coast, is 
that of Escuintla : * it extends 80 leagues along the 
shores of the Pacific, and is above 30 leagues in 
breadth ; yet, the population is only 38,400 souls. In 
this province, the Spanish language is generally 
spoken, but the mother tongue is the Sinca. The 
only towns or villages worthy notice, are : La Concep- 
tion Escuintla, the residence of the alcalde -mayor, 
situated in lat. 14° 15' N., and long. 91° 46' W. : 
Guazacapan, formerly a separate alcaldia-mayor, but 
now in decay : and Santa Cruz Chiquimula, two 
leagues from Guazacapan, now the most populous 
place in the district, containing upwards of 8,000 in- 
habitants, who are chiefly employed in the cultivation 
of rice, with which they supply the capital. The town 
of Escuintla is much frequented, Juarros says, by the 
inhabitants of Guatimala, in the months of January 
and February, for the purpose of bathing in the de- 
lightful river that llows close by it. The distance 
from Guatimala is seventeen leagues. It contains a 
magnificent parish church, and an oratory dedicated 
to San Sebastian : there were formerly four other 
chapels, which have fallen to decay. About three 
leagues from the town is the small village of Masagua, 
which, like San Lorenzo in Suchiltepec, contains a 
wonder-working image of the Virgin, which attracts 
crowds of pilgrims. 

Of the numerous rivers that water this province, 
the most considerable is the Michatoyat, which flows 
out of the lake Amatitan: after the course of a few 
leagues, it has a beautiful fall, called the falls of San 

* Itzcuintti, in the Aztec or Mexican language, signifies dog. 



GUATIMALA. 201 

Pedro Martin. The Rio de los Esclavos (slave river) 
is distinguished by the bridge built over it in 1592, by- 
far the handsomest and best constructed in the king- 
dom : it is 128 yards in length, 18 yards in breadth, 
and has eleven arches. The river is of great depth, 
and, in the rainy seasons, is so much swelled, that, 
before the bridge was built, the communication was 
then cut off between the eastern provinces and the 
capital. Notwithstanding the great height of the 
bridge, the floods are sometimes so high as to cover 
it, and have repeatedly occasioned serious damage. 
It derives its name from the circumstance of Alva- 
rado's having punished some of the refractory Indians 
in this quarter by branding them as slaves. The 
river Guacalat, which rises in the province of Chi- 
maltenango, flows by the site of Old Guatimala, where 
it is called the Magdalena : it is then joined by the 
Rio Pensativo, and after entering the province of 
Escuintla, receives so many tributary streams as to be- 
come navigable, and finally disembogues into the Pacific, 
where it forms the bar of Istapa, celebrated for being 
the place where Alvarado equipped his armaments in 
the years 1534 and 1539. " This place," says Juarros, 
u is highly deserving of notice in a commercial point 
of view, as it affords every convenience and advantage 
for carrying on an extensive traffic in the Pacific. 
Its contiguity to the city of Guatimala would enable 
speculators to obtain all the productions of the country 
at a moderate rate, which could be conveyed by land- 
carriage to the place of embarkation at a trifling ex- 
pense, on a road that was opened and levelled in 1539, 
for the purpose of transporting upon carriages some 
of Alvarado' s small vessels. There is excellent an- 
chorage, well sheltered on every point ; there are 
neither reefs nor shallows, and the entrance is per- 



202 GUATIMALA. 

fectly safe and easy. A redoubt, with four or six 
pieces of cannon, would afford protection to the ship- 
ping; and for the construction of such a defence, there 
are many eligible points. With respect to ship-build- 
ing, the advantages are of still greater importance, 
as wood of the best quality is found in the neighbour- 
hood, in quantities inexhaustible ; for the fertility of 
the land is so great, and its quality so peculiarly 
adapted to the growth of timber, that, after a tree is 
felled, the root will send out five or six shoots that, 
in four years, become trees of considerable girth and 
height. The cedars are of immense size, some ex- 
ceeding seven fathoms in circumference. The wood 
called palo de maria, excellent for masts, is in very 
great abundance. Cordage is still more plentiful ; 
for, on every part of this coast, the pita grows luxu- 
riantly and profusely, which is much superior for 
the manufacture of cables and other ropes, to the 
esparto {genista hispanica). Pitch and tar are both 
good and cheap in the valley of Jumais. Freights 
of cocoa and other articles of agricultural produce, 
planks of cedar and caoba-wood, so much esteemed 
for cabinet-work, may be procured here to almost any 
extent. Notwithstanding all the inducements and 
facilities for carrying on an important traffic which 
this place offers, but little success has hitherto at- 
tended the various experiments that have been tried." 
The little trade carried on by this province, is confined 
to fish, salt, maize, bananas', sapotes, and other fruits, 
which are carried to the market of Guatimala. 

The most remarkable natural curiosity inEscuintla, 
is the rock called La Perm de Miraudilla. Juarros 
describes it as " a huge promontory of live rock, so 
lofty as to be seen at many leagues' distance, the sum- 
mit presenting a most correct resemblance of a large 



GUATIMALA. 203 

trunk or chest ; and what appears to be the lid, is 
perforated from side to side so exactly as to admit of 
the light passing through." " These openings have 
undoubtedly," he adds, " been made by lightning, as, 
either from the great elevation of this vast pile, or 
from the metallic attraction of its mass, in which 
many veins of tin are apparent, the electric fluid is 
invariably observed to strike against its surface, in 
the frequent thunder-storms that take place in this 
part." 

Like the other maritime provinces on the western 
coast, Escuintla is infested by immense numbers of 
noxious animals and reptiles. Among these, not the 
least formidable are the warrior-ants {Jiormigas guer- 
reras), who are double the size of the common ant, 
and always move in regular array, like an army. 
" Wherever they enter a house, they spread all over 
it, and clear it so effectually as not to leave a single 
worm, reptile, or vermin of any sort, behind them 
when they depart. To the larger creatures, such as 
snakes, scorpions, toads, rats, &c. they are formidable 
from their numbers : in attacking these animals, they 
adhere so closely to their bodies that they soon kill 
them, and devour them to the bones. When they 
have cleansed one house, they quit it, and proceed to 
another." Juarros adds to this account a very mar- 
vellous property of these beneficent marauders. " If 
any injury be done to them when in the house, they 
revenge it by biting or stinging the assailant, and im- 
mediately retreat, leaving the vermin untouched !"* 

* There is a Spanish saying, No ay a-iatura tan iibre, a quiert 
falta su alguacil : There is no creature so free as to be without its 
alguacil (police-officer). Snakes and scorpions, according to this 
account, are not excepted from this general law. In like manner* 
the great American fire-fly preys upon mosquitoes and other gnats 5 



204 GUATIMALA. 

This same writer describes a remarkable species of 
snake, called by the Indians tepulcuat, which, he says, 
has two heads, one at each extremity, and can ad- 
vance with facility in either direction without turning. 
But he does not affirm that he ever saw one of these 
monstrous reptiles, and no mention of them occurs in 
Alcedo's Dictionary. The danta or tapir, and the 
cayman or alligator, are found in this province, and, 
among other birds, the guaycamayo or macaw. The 
vegetable productions are numerous and valuable. 
The most esteemed is the banana, (here called gordo,) 
which, says Juarros, " for delicacy of flavour, is supe- 
rior to the anana (pine-apple), the guanabana, or the 
chicozapote (little sapote or medlar), and, for beauty 
of colour, to the scarlet sapote : being, perhaps, more 
extensively useful than any other fruit, it forms a 
principal article in the traffic of the province. In the 
first place, it furnishes a substantial food, each fruit 
yielding a large quantity of nutritive matter, without 
skin, stone, or other inedible part. Poor people eat 
it both in a ripe and an immature state, but others 
only in a mature state, as it then has a most agreeable 
flavour. Dried in the sun, it has an exquisite taste, 
and is greatly superior to the dried figs brought from 
Europe ; it is also eaten boiled, roasted, and fried with 
sugar ; it furnishes the chief materials for several kinds 
of savoury stews ; and finally, it supplies the place of 
maize. Fuentes says, that the plantains, dried in an 
oven, then peeled and pounded to a paste, and pressed 

the toad is said to be an excellent fly-catcher ; snakes are good 
mousers ; and the mouse is the enemy of the cock-roach. ■ ■ We 
have not taken animals enough into alliance with us," says the 
Author of Madoc ; " the gull should be taught to catch fish for us in 
the sea, the otter in fresh water. In hot countries, a reward should 
be offered to the man who could discover what insect fed upon 
jieas"— Notes to Madoc, vol. ii. p. 323. 



GUATEMALA. 205 

into a vessel, may, after being kept for about a fort- 
night, be dissolved in water and strained, and the 
liquor will make a sort of wine, not to be distinguished 
from that which is called Ojo de Gallo. The facility 
of cultivating this valuable fruit, and the great 
abundance of its produce, occasion its real worth to be 
but ill appreciated, and its extensive utility to be much 
neglected." * Among the other productions, are cin- 
namon wood (or cascarilla de loxd), tamarinds, cassia, 
long pepper, ginger, the root suchilpactli, scorzonera, 
orejuela, (the flowers of which are used to perfume 
and flavour chocolate,) and excellent cocoa. The wood 
already mentioned, called palo de rnaria, yields a sap 
that is esteemed for its medicinal properties in healing 
wounds and dissolving tumours. From the ule-tree 
is obtained a paper, made of its bark ; and on piercing 
its trunks a liquor exudes copiously, which, when 
boiled, becomes an excellent preservative of leather, 
rendering it completely water-proof. 

The river Paza divides this province on the south- 
east, from the alcaldia-mayor of Zonzonate, (corrupted 
from Zezontlatl-)-,) a territory of very small extent, 
having only 18 leagues of coast and 13 leagues of 
breadth, but much better peopled ; containing, within 
these limits, a population of 45,000 souls. Santissima 
Trinidad de Zonzonate, the head-town, is pleasantly 
situated on the Rio Grande, in lat. 13° 35' N., and 
long. 90° 26% about four leagues from the sea. It 



* See for the importance and various uses of the banana, the 
fruit of the plantain-tree {platano arton, zapalote, or musa paradi- 
siaca), vol. i. p. 180; and Humboldt, Pol. Ess., vol. ii. pp. 366-380. 

t This word, in the Mexican language, is said to signify many 
springs, and is the name given to the provincial capital from the 
river on which it is situated, now called Rio Grande, which is 
formed by innumerable springs. 



206 GUATIMALA. 

contains a spacious church, three oratories, four con- 
vents, royal magazines, and a treasury. The popu- 
lation, in 1778, amounted to 3,500, of whom nearly 
500 were Spaniards. On the opposite side of the 
river, communicating with the town by a stone bridge, 
is a suburb called the barria del angel, with a chapel ; 
and in the vicinity are three small Indian villages, 
numerous cottages, and gardens. The climate is very 
hot. Acajutla, the port of Zonzonate, is merely an 
open bay, without shelter ; yet, notwithstanding the 
difficulties of the coast, it is the anchor ing-place for 
ships coming from Peru with freights of wine, brandy, 
oils, olives, raisins, skins, and other produce ; in return 
for which, they take back indigo, sarsaparilla, naphtha, 
tar, turpentine, balsam, amber, and other gums and 
resins, in which this province carries on a considerable 
commerce.* An inland trade is likewise carried on 
in mats, woven in different colours by the Indians, 
which are used in Guatimala as carpets. The pro- 
vince yields also cotton, cocoa, sugar, indigo, sessamum, 
and rice. The other chief places are Aguachapa, a 
large and nourishing town, in a district producing 
excellent sugar ; and Izalco, containing two parishes, 
with a population exceeding 6,000. The volcano of 
Izalco, from which the town takes its name, is distin- 
guished by its frequent eruptions : a very violent one 
took place in April 1798, which lasted for several 
days. 

The fifth province, that of San Salvador, is of suffi- 
cient importance to be made an intendancy. It is 
bounded on the west by Zonzonate, on the east and 

* About forty leagues north-west of the port of Acajutla, in 
the province of Escuintla, is a small bay, called in some maps, 
the port of Guatimala; but this, Juarros says, is an error: it is 
not a port, nor has it any shelter whatever. 



GUATIMALA. 207 

north by Comayagua, and extends fifty leagues along 
the shores of the Pacific : its breadth is about thirty 
leagues. It is more numerously peopled than any 
other province, the number of inhabitants being up- 
wards of 211,000. The Indians of this intendancy 
are highly civilised, and all speak Spanish. The most 
valuable trade of the whole country is carried on here, 
the principal branch of which is indigo, now become 
almost exclusively a production of this province. From 
the rich tract of country within this intendancy, 
called the Balsam coast, is obtained the richest balsam 
in the world.* The valuable plant which grows here 
in great abundance, not only yields both the white 
and the black balsam, but a nut from which is ex- 
tracted the oil of balm, and a spirit called aguardiente 
de balsamo, is distilled from the flowers. There are 
said to be mines also of silver, iron, and lead. 

The intendancy is divided into four districts. The 
first, proceeding from west to east, is that of Santa 
Ana, The climate in this district is milder than in 
any other part of the intendancy ; the chief article of 
commerce is sugar, with some indigo, cattle, and 
sheep. The town of Santa Ana Grande, which gives 
name to the district, contained, in 1778, a population 
exceeding 6,000, of whom about 350 were Spaniards. 
Ckalchuapa is a large, well-built village ; the principal 
occupation of the inhabitants is breeding hogs. The 
best -built town in the district is San Pedro Matapas, 
situated about two leagues from the lake Guija, 
which communicates with the river Lempa, the largest 
in the kingdom. At its lowest ebb, that river is said to 
exceed 140 yards in breadth. The lake is about eight 

* This balsam, says Juarros, has always been so highly esteemed, 
that, in 1562 and 1571, Popes Pius IV. and V. granted permission 
that the American balsam might be used in the holy chrism. 



208 GUATIMALA. 

leagues in length and three in width, and abounds 
with fish. In the environs of Matapas are five iron 
founderies. The church is handsome and richly en- 
dowed : the population exceeds 4,000. 

The city of San Salvador, which gives its name to 
the principal district, as well as to the whole inten- 
dancy, stands in a delightful valley, surrounded by 
mountains covered with wood, which terminate towards 
the north-east in a volcanic summit, that has caused 
at different periods great devastation by its eruptions : 
it is in lat. 13° 36' N. ; long. 89° 46' W. The town 
was founded in 1528, with the view to keep the pro- 
vince of Cuscatlan (land of riches), as it was then 
called, in subjection. It was created a city by Charles 
the Fifth in 1545. Besides the church of San Salvador, 
there are four oratories, three convents, Dominican, 
Franciscan, and Mercedarian, a custom-house, a post- 
office, a tobacco-factory, and a town-house. The 
streets are laid out in right lines, the houses are com- 
modious, and the markets are well supplied. The 
inhabitants, in 1778, were nearly 12,000, of whom 
GOO were Spaniards. The population has doubtless 
considerably increased since that time. The distance 
from Guatimala is 60 leagues E.S.E. The other prin- 
cipal towns of the district, are Nejapa, Tejutla, San 
Jacinto, Suchitoto, Cojutepec, Texacuangos, Olocuilta, 
Tonacatepec, Chalatenango, and Masagua. The trade 
of this district, which contains half the population of 
the intendancy, is chiefly confined to indigo, to which, 
indeed, the inhabitants devote their attention almost 
exclusively, so as to neglect the culture of other 
articles of prime necessity. " The cultivation of 
indigo," Humboldt says, " which is very general in 
Guatimala and Caraccas, is neglected in Mexico ; and 
indigo is annually imported from Guatimala, where 



GUATIMALA. 209 

the total produce of the plantations amounts to the 
value of twelve millions of livres. Raynal is wrong 
when he maintains that the Europeans introduced the 
cultivation of this valuable plant into America. 
Several species of indigofera are peculiar to the New 
Continent. Ferdinand Columbus, in the life of his 
father, mentions indigo among the productions of 
Hayti. Hernandez describes the process by which 
the natives separated the fecula from the juice of the 
plant ; a process different from that now employed. 
The small cakes of indigo dried by fire, were called 
mohuitli or tleuohuilli : the plant was designated by the 
name Xiuhquilipitzahuac.'" * In Guatimala, the 
plant is called Giquilite, and the indigo prepared from 
it, anil: the former is the native name; the latter 
has passed into the Spanish language from the Arabic 
word niz or nil, Hernandez calls the Mexican in- 
digo, aniz. 

The district of San Vicente has a climate more 
intensely warm than San Salvador : its trade consists 
chiefly in tobacco and dyeing materials. The head 
town, San Vicente de Austria, otherwise called 
Lorenzana, is situated on the skirts of a lofty moun- 
tain, at the base of which are several caverns, wherein 
are some warm springs ; the waters are extremely 
fetid, and u burst forth -with an incredible noise." 
In different parts of the valley there are mineral 
springs of different temperature, and the whole region 
bears marks of volcanic phenomena. Two deep rivers, 
the Acaguapa and the Amapulta, nearly surround the 
town ; the one skirting the northern side, the other 
flowing on the south ; and at a short distance is a 
third river, called the San Christobal. These three 

* Pol. Essay, vol. lii- p. 44. 



210 GUATIMALA. 

streams are said to vary most remarkably in tempera- 
ture. The waters of the Acaguapa are particularly 
cold, those of the Amapulta are warm, while the San 
Christobal is always of the temperature of the human 
body. The climate is warm and humid, but healthy. 
Besides the principal church of San Vicente, there is a 
very handsome one dedicated to JVossa Senhora del 
Pilar, erected at the sole cost of a private individual ; 
it has three vaulted aisles of beautiful architecture, 
and is richly decorated. There is also an oratory of 
Calvary, and a Franciscan convent. It is 74 leagues 
from Guatimala, 14 leagues east of San Salvador, and 
23 west of San Miguel. At the base of the volcano of 
San Vicente, and directly opposite the town of the 
same name, is the village of Sacatecoluca, " one of the 
finest in the kingdom," with a population of upwards 
of 5,000 persons. About a league from San Vicente, 
on the skirts of the same mountain, in a mild climate, 
is the large village of Apastepec, noted for its annual 
fair, held on the 1st of November, for the sale of 
dyeing woods, &c. The village of Istepec is celebrated 
for its tobacco ; and at the adjoining village of Tepe- 
titan, there is a royal tobacco -factory. 

The fourth and most easterly district of the in- 
tendancy is that of San Miguel, the climate of which 
is intensely hot and insalubrious: the produce consists 
chiefly of indigo and tobacco. On the coast are two 
ports ; one called Jiquilisco, the entrance of which is 
six leagues eastward of the bar of the river Lempa ; 
it is shut in by several islands, that shelter and defend 
the anchorage. The other, called Conchagua, is a 
large bay, capable of receiving ships of any tonnage ; 
it is situated on the confines of the province towards 
the district of Cholulteca. The city of San Miguel de 
la Fr outer a, situated in lat. 12° 50' N., and long. 88° 



GUATIMALA. 211 

46' W., contains a good church, two convents, Fran- 
ciscan and Mercedarian, an oratory, and a town -house ; 
the population exceeds 6,000 souls. It was formerly 
much more populous. " Indeed," says Juarros, 
" the commercial advantages it enjoys, would render 
it one of the most numerously peopled places in the 
kingdom ; but the insalubrity of the climate keeps 
down the number of the native residents, and deters 
others from taking up their abode in it." The inha- 
bitants are said to be wealthy. It is 12 leagues from 
the sea, 37 from San Salvador, and 97 from Guati- 
mala. The other towns are San Alexis, Chapeltic, 
and San Juan Chinameca. The last of these, situ- 
ated in an elevated region, enjoys a mild and salu- 
brious climate, and the soil produces all the species of 
grain, fruit, and vegetables peculiar to the temperate 
zone, with which it supplies the city of San Miguel. 
At Estanzuelas, a small village of Indians and Mulat- 
toes, there is a mineral spring which has petrifying 
properties. 

The whole of this fine province invites the especial 
attention of the geologist and naturalist, from the 
very circumstances which render it an undesirable 
residence. The violent earthquakes by which it has 
repeatedly been visited,* the three volcanoes of San 
Salvador, San Miguel, and San Vicente, (from the 
former two of which eruptions have happened within 
the memory of the natives,) the sulphureous springs 
in the valley of San Vicente, and other circumstances, 
indicate that the shores of the Pacific here form but 
an immense vault over the subterranean depositories 
of combustible matter which feed the volcanic furnaces. 



* Those from which it has suffered the greatest injury, look 
place in the years 157 5, 1593, 1G25, HJ56, and 1798. 
PART IV. O 



212 GUATIMALA. 

There seems to be a repetition here of many of the 
phenomena which occur on the coast of Valladolid.* 
The volcanoes of San Salvador tower far above the 
neighbouring mountains, especially that of San Vi- 
cente. No account exists of any eruption from this 
volcano, but the numerous springs of warm water 
that descend from its sides, are all impregnated with 
sulphur ; and on its northern flank is an aperture, called 
the Infernillo, which emits. smoke or vapour like the 
hornitos of Jorullo. In this direction also are many 
other openings, filled with very hot water, in which 
may be heard a noise resembling that of a fluid in a 
state of ebullition, (a circumstance observed also in 
the Malpays,) and this noise is increased by the 
slightest agitation of the air, even by the human 
voice. On some parts of the mountain, we are told, 
is found a very white earth, commonly used for paint- 
ing in distemper ; in other parts are yellow, rose- 
coloured, purple, and blue earths ; green copperas is 
also met with. These are doubtless pyrites. No in- 
formation of a scientific kind is to be obtained from 
the vague accounts of the native writers. The alti- 
tude of the volcan is said to be so great that, in the 
upper regions, the cold is excessive ; but, whether it 
rises into the region of snow, is not stated. Among 
the animals who inhabit it, are the wild boar and the 
danta or tapir. 

The lakes of Guija (or Guixar) and Metapa form 
one of the most interesting features of this intendancy. 
They are said to communicate by a subterranean 
channel. The lake of Metapa, which is fed by the 
rivers Langue and Languetuyo, and has, apparently, 
no other outlet, by this means discharges its super- 

* See p. 126 of this volume. 



GUATEMALA. 213 

fiuous waters.* The lake Guija, which is twenty 
leagues in extent, is also fed by the large river Mit- 
lan, which, augmented in its long course by many 
tributary streams, discharges itself into the lake under 
the name of the river Ostua, near the village so called. 
The river Guija, a large and powerful stream, in no 
part fordable, flows out of the lake, and, after a wind- 
ing course, joins the river Lempa. This latter river 
has its sources in the mountains of Esquipulas, in the 
province of Chiquimula. It is at first an inconsiderable 
rivulet called the Sesecapa ; but, in a course of more 
than forty leagues, it receives the tribute of a great 
number of small streams, and after being joined by 
the Guija, rolls an immense volume of water towards 
the Pacific, where it discharges a little to the westward 
of the Bay of Jiquilisco, forming the boundary be- 
tween the districts of San Vicente and San Miguel. 
The two lakes above-mentioned furnish to the whole 
district an inexhaustible supply of delicate fish. In 
the middle of that of Guija, is a large island most pic- 
turesquely clothed with wood, which gives cover to 
immense quantities of game. On this island, are the 
ruins of some ancient buildings, called by the natives 
Tzacualpa (old village), which are of sufficient extent 
to convey the idea of its having been a place of some 
importance. -j- Two other lakes are mentioned by 
Juarros, those of Texacuangos and Gilopango, which, 
he says, afford various kinds of fine fish, more than 

* We say apparently, because the vague statement of Juarros 
requires to be verified by actual investigation. 

f In the interior of the woods on this island, Fuentes states, 
that it had been affirmed on very respectable authority, that satyrs 
had been frequently seen. Juarros dismisses the assertion as unde- 
serving of attention ; yet, it might be worth inquiry, whether 
these woods may not conceal a species of anthropomorphous ape, 
or savages. 



214 GUATIMALA. 

enough for the markets of San Salvador and a great 
portion of the intendancy ; but he gives no account 
of their situation or extent. 

Almost the whole of the tract of country which we 
have been describing, lies either within the regions 
called the tierras calientes, or occupies the southern 
declivity of the cordillera, the crests of which, " brist- 
ling with volcanic cones," stretch along the coast of 
the Pacific from the lake of Nicaragua to the bay of 
Tehuantepec. The province of Costa Rica likewise 
contains volcanoes. But the most remarkable are in 
the inland province of Sacatepec, which, as comprising 
both the ancient and the modern capital, will now 
claim our attention. It forms part of the territory 
designated in some geographical works by the name 
of Guatimala Proper.* 



* In a recent geographical work, Guatimala is with singular 
inaccuracy described as containing eight provinces, viz. Chiapa, 
Vera Paz, Guatimala Proper, Soconusco, Honduras, Nicaragua, 
Costa Rica, and Veragua. The latter belongs to New Granada. 
It is hard to say what is meant to be included in Guatimala 
Proper. Its boundaries are said to be Vera Paz and Chiapa on 
the N.E. (an obvious blunder for N.W.) ; Honduras on the E. ; 
Nicaragua on the S.E. ; and Oaxaca on the N. and W. Oaxaca 
neither lies in that direction, nor can it touch on Guatimala Proper, 
as Soconusco divides them. No notice js taken in this enumeration, 
of the important intendancy of San Salvador. Guatimala Proper, 
therefore, would, according to this statement, comprise the four 
maritime provinces of Suchil tepee, Escuintla, Zonzonate, and San 
Salvador, or the whole coast between Soconusco and Nicaragua, 
and the five midland provinces ! It would more correctly be re- 
stricted to the three interior provinces, lying between Vera Paz on 
the north and Escuintla on the south, which composed the ancient 
Kachiquel or Guatimalan kingdom. In Alcedo's Dictionary, a 
work considered as a high authority, Guatimala is described with 
similar inaccuracy. It is stated to contain 13 provinces, viz. Soco- 
nusco, Chiapa, Suquitepec, Vera Paz, Honduras, Icalcos, San 
Salvador, San Miguel, Nicaragua, Xeres de la Choluteca, Tegusi- 
galpa, and Costa Rica. These 13 provinces are said to be divided 



GUATIMALA. 21 £ 



VALLEY OF GUATIMALA. 



The province of Sacatepec, being of limited extent, 
though unusually populous, is only an alcaldia-mayor ■. 
It lies between the 14th and 15th parallels of north 
latitude, and between long. 90° 46' and 91° 46' W. 
It is not above 20 leagues in length, and is nearly as 
much in breadth, and contains upwards of 115,600 
inhabitants. It is the most southern of the five in- 
terior provinces, and, together with the alcaldias of 
Chimaltenango and Solola, formed the ancient king- 
dom of Kachiquel. Within these contracted limits, 
the country presents a singular variety of surface and 
of climate. The soil, Juarros says, is favourable to 
the productions of every temperature. The Vale of 
Guatimala, known also by the name of Pasuya, seems 
to bear an analogy to that series of immense plains 
which encircle the capital of Mexico. It consists of 
nine basins or valleys, of varying elevation, comprised 
within one vast circuit, which extends from the moun- 
tains of Quezaltenango on the west, to the maritime 
province of Chiquimula on the east. Three of these 
valleys, those of Chimaltenango, Xilopetec, and Alo- 
tenango, are comprised within the alcaldia-mayor of 
Chimaltenango : the other six, which form the alcal- 
dia-mayor of Sacatepec, are the valleys of Guatimala, 
Mixco, Sacatepec, Las Vacas, Mesas de Petapa, and 
Canales. We are unacquainted with the different 

into 25 governments and alcaldias-mayores ; and afterwards, the 
province of Guatimala, (which is not mentioned in the first enu- 
meration,) is stated to be one of the three composing the kingdom. 
It is needless to point out the gross inaccuracies in this account, 
lcalcos is probably Izalco in Zonzonate, which does not appear to 
have ever formed cither an alcaldia-mayor or a corregimiento. The 
same remark applies to San Miguel. 
o 2 



216 GUATEMALA. 

elevations of these valleys, as no Humboldt has 
hitherto explored this region ; but there is reason to 
suppose that they will be found to vary not less re- 
markably in their climate and productions, than the 
four Mexican plateaus.* Juarros states, that the val- 
ley of Chimaltenango enjoys a cold, dry, but healthy 
climate, and that it is of so exactly proportioned a 
level, that the drainage waters of one half of the town 
of Santa Ana descend into the Atlantic, and those of 
the other half into the Pacific. The soil produces 
wheat, maize, and European fruits. The vicinity of 
Almolonga and San Gaspar in Sacatepec, used to sup- 
ply the capital with pulque or maguey wine, until the 
governor, Andres de los Navas, prohibited the traffic 
under pain of excommunication ; while, in the valley 
of Xilotepec, the sugar-cane is cultivated. 

That which is properly called the Valley of Guati- 
mala-|- occupies nearly the centre of the chain of 
plateaus, having the valleys of Chimaltenango and 
Xilotepec on the north, that of Mixco on the east, 
that of Petapa on the south, and that of Alote- 
nango on the west. Old Guatimala stands nearly 
in the centre of the plain, encompassed by eleven 
suburbs, which are environed by no fewer than thirty- 
one villages, the most distant of which is not two 
leagues from the city : some of these are on the plain, 
others on the declivities of the mountains. The 

* The valley of Toluca is 8,530 feet, the valley of Tenochtitlan 
7,460 feet, the valley of Actopan 6,450 feet, and the valley of Istla 
3,300 feet, above the level of the sea. They differ as much in 
their climate as in their elevation, each being adapted to a different 
species of cultivation. The last, which is the least elevated, ad- 
mits of the growth of the sugar-cane ; the third is adapted for that 
of cotton ; the second, for the cultivation of European grain ; and 
the first, for agave-plantations. — Humboldt, Pol. Essay, vol. i. 
p. 56.. 

f Its ancient name was the valley of Tuerto or Panchoi. 



GUATIMALA. 217 

present inhabitants are, it seems, indebted to the 
Spanish conquerors for this succession of villages. It 
appears from the records of the cabildo y that soon after 
the city was founded, a distribution was made, in lots, 
of the lands in the valley. It being found, however, 
that some of the worthy citizens had, in the scramble, 
got possession of larger portions than fell to their 
share, while others had none, in a meeting of the 
cabildo held in April 1528, it was determined to 
equalise the distribution by dividing the whole valley 
into lots called caballerias and peonerias 3 * the former, 
1,000 paces long by 600 in breadth; the latter, half 
that quantity. To a horse-soldier was assigned a 
caballeria ; to a foot-soldier, a peoneria. These lots 
were laid out by the proprietors, some as maize-fields, 
others as gardens, or for other agricultural labours. 
" At this period," continues Juarros, " there were 
great numbers of the unreclaimed natives wandering 
about in the forests and on the mountains, without 
any kind of subjection or government, who were very 
detrimental to those who had already been converted. 
The Spaniards, desirous of applying a remedy to this 
evil, began to devise means of collecting them toge- 
ther, and establishing them in small villages. This 
design was still further promoted by various edicts 
from the king, particularly one dated June 10, 1540, 
which especially ordered that all methods should be 
tried to induce the Indians to live in societies and form 
villages, to accomplish more effectually the important 
object of civilising and instructing them. As the 
wild Indians disregarded all the friendly offers that 
were made them, and shewed but little inclination to 
listen to the preaching of the missionaries, the gover- 
nor gave permission to hunt them out of their retreats. 
In consequence, the officers, each taking ten or twelve 



218 GUATIMALA. 

soldiers, sallied forth on the darkest nights, conducted 
hy expert guides, to an Indian hovel, where they fre- 
quently seized six, eight, or ten Indians, whom they 
brought home and placed on their maize -plantations 
and other works, under the superintendence of careful 
persons. These excursions were repeated until sixty, 
eighty, two hundred, three hundred, or even greater 
numbers were got together and formed into a village, 
on which was usually bestowed the name of the saint 
of the proprietor's peculiar devotion, with the addition 
of the surname of his family. Thus, Luis de Bivar 
established the village called San Gaspar Bivar ; 
Ignacio de Bobadilla, that of Santa Catarina 
Bobadilla ; Alonzo de Zamora, that of Santiago 
Zamora, at a place where he used to wash the soil to 
find gold ; and Gabriel Cabrera, that of San Lucas 
Cabrera.* Several others are designated by the 
dignity or office held by their founders ; as, San 
Juan del Obispo, founded by Bishop Francisco de 
Marroquin ; San Andres Dean, founded by Dean 
Juan Alonzo ; and San Pedro Tesorero, established 
by the treasurer, Pedro de Becerra. San Miguel Milpa 
Duenas, founded by Alvarado, is named from a portion 
of land which he had ordered to be sown with maize 
for the benefit of the widows of his soldiers ; San 
Dionisio Pastores is said to have received its name 
from the inhabitants having tended Alvarado's flocks ; 
and San Luis de las Carretas was so called because 
the inhabitants were chiefly cartwrights. The in- 

* Others are enumerated by Juarros, which we have not thought 
it necessary to particularise. San Lucas Cabrera is also called San 
Lucas Yehanzuquit, which signifies, in the Pipil language, house of 
mud ; deriving this appellative from some wells near the village, 
« in which, if any kind of linen be laid for three or four days, it 
will be dyed a most beautiful black, and the colour so durable 
that it cannot be discharged."— Juarros, p. 479, note. 



GUATIMALA. 219 

habitants of the city derive many advantages from 
these numerous places : besides the supply of every 
kind of provisions, they draw plenty of hands for their 
different works and manufactories. If a person is in 
want of bricklayers, he is sure of finding them at 
Jocotenango, Santa Ana, and San Gaspar ; masons at 
San Cristoval (the lower) ; gardeners at San Pedro 
de las Huertas ; bakers at Santa Ana ; and butchers 
at Santa Isabel. The inhabitants of Almolonga supply 
the city with fruit of all kinds, either the growth 
of their own gardens, or procured from other villages 
towards the mountains or the sea-shore ; Almolonga 
and Upper San Cristoval furnish all kinds of flowers ; 
San Gaspar and Almolonga used to supply pulque ; 
and San Pedro de las Huertas sends cauliflowers, 
cabbages, onions, and every other description of gar- 
den vegetables. Wood, coals, and similar articles 
of domestic necessity, are brought from the other 
villages.' ' 

This description, while it discloses the unprincipled 
method pursued by the Spanish conquerors for sub- 
jugating and converting the natives, shews that the 
site of Alvarado's capital was not injudiciously chosen. 
The spot first selected was about a league to the 
south-west of Old Guatimala, between the two vol- 
canoes, near the place now called Almolonga, and 
sometimes Ciudad Vieja (the old city).* The settle- 
ment here, Juarro3 states, was meant to be a tem- 

* It is a disputed point among the Spanish historians, whether 
the first settlement was at Almolonga, or in the capital of King 
Sinacam, the Indian city of Tecpanguatemala, which occupied the 
site of San Miguel Tzacualpa, a village at a short distance. Juarros 
says, that directly above Tzacualpa (which signifies old town), 
may be distinguished the deep channel made by the torrent of 
water and detached masses of rock by which the old town was 
overwhelmed. 



220 GUATIMALA. 

porary one, until a more convenient spot could be 
selected ; but, " not discovering another situation 
offering superior advantages, the inhabitants deter- 
mined to remain here, and to extend their buildings a 
little to the eastward, upon the skirt of the mountain 
called the Volcan de Agua ; a place of great fertility, 
very pleasant, under a fine climate, healthy, and 
abundantly supplied with excellent water. On this 
spot, they commenced building the city on the 22d of 
November, 1527 ; and in a short time they had 
erected a decent cathedral, convents of Dominicans, 
Franciscans, and Mercedarians, two hermitas, a town- 
house, and a hospital. After fourteen years' progress, 
further improvements were stopped by a calamity that 
finally decided its fate. On the night of Septem- 
ber 11, 1541, an eruption of water from the mountain 
took place, when a torrent so immense rolled down 
from the summit, sweeping before it large trees and 
enormous rocks, that the city w r as overwhelmed, the 
buildings destroyed, and great part of the inhabitants 
buried beneath the ruins.* This irreparable disaster 

* The account which Juarros gives of this dreadful catastrophe, 
is as follows. ft It had rained incessantly and with great violence 
on the three preceding days, particularly on the night of the 10th, 
when the water descended more like the torrent of a cataract than 
ram. The fury of the wind, the incessant, appalling lightning and 
dreadful thunder, were indescribable. The general terror was 
increased by eruptions from the volcano to such a degree, that, 
in this combination of horrors, the inhabitants imagined the 
final destruction of the world was at hand. At two o'clock on 
the morning of the 11th, the vibrations of the earth were so 
violent, that the people were unable to stand. The shocks were 
accompanied with a terrible subterranean noise, which spread 
universal dismay. Shortly afterward, an immense torrent of 
water rushed down from the summit of the mountain, forcing 
away with it enormous fragments of rocks and large trees, which, 
descending upon the ill-fated town, overwhelmed and destroyed 
almost all the houses, and buried a great number of inhabitants 
under the ruins." 



GUATIMALA. '221 

compelled tlie survivors to seek another settlement ; 
and they fixed upon the place where Old Guatimala 
now stands, about a league north-east of Ciudad 
Vusja." 

Among the victims of this catastrophe, was Dona 
Beatriz de la Cueba, the widow of Pedro de Alvarado, 
who had been elected governess of the city. While 
the survivors were holding a council in the cathedral 
on the 18th of September, a week after the eruption, 
to deliberate on the removal of the city, several 
shocks of earthquake compelled them to seek their 
safety by flight. At a subsequent meeting, on the 
27th, the removal was resolved on by a majority 
of forty-three votes against five. The situations at 
first proposed for the new city were, the valleys of 
Alotenango and Chimaltenango ; and a considerable 
majority gave the preference to the latter. But, 
at this juncture, there arrived an engineer sent out by 
the Spanish Government, Juan Battista Antonelli, in 
consequence of whose representation, both plans were 
given up, and the valley of Tuerto, or Panchoi, was 
finally chosen as the site for the city of Santiago. 
The council in which this decision was made, took 
place on the 22d of October, 1541 ; and such was the 
zeal of the people in carrying on the work, that by the 
May following, a great part of the city was inhabited, 
although the complete demarcation of it was not 
finished before November. It was the metropolis of 
the kingdom until the year 1776, when the capital 
was transferred to the valley of Mixco, in consequence 
of the devastation occasioned by the earthquake of 
1773. 



222 GUATI'MALA. 



OLD GUATIMALA. 



Old Guatimala (la Antigua Guatimala), an- 
ciently a city and the metropolis of the kingdom, now 
ranks only as a town ; it is, however, as being the 
residence of the alcalde mayor, the provincial capital 
of Sacatepec. Its proper title is Santiago (or San 
Jago) de los Caballeros de Guatimala, Saint Cecilia 
is also considered as the co-patroness of the city, in 
consequence of a memorable victory obtained over the 
Kachiqnel Indians, who had revolted, in 152G.* It 
was constituted an episcopal see in 1534 by Pope 

* The history of this revolt is briefly given by Juarros. When 
Pedro de Alvarado left Guatimala in 1526 to wait upon Cortes, he 
left his brother Gonzalo lieutenant of the newly acquired kingdom 
during his absence. Impelled by avarice, Gonzalo determined to 
improve the favourable opportunity of enriching himself. " With 
this view, he demanded an exorbitant tribute from the populous 
village of Pitinamit, requiring that 800 of the Indians should each 
bring him, every day, a reed of the size of his little finger filled with 
fine gold, under the penalty of being taken as slaves. The 
unhappy victims of his rapacity exerted themselves to the utmost 
to pay this iniquitous exaction ; but all their endeavours being in- 
effectual, the governor went to the village, inflicted severe punish- 
ments, and threatened them with death, should his demand be 
neglected. The natives, driven to desperation by these vexations, 
invoked all the towns of the Kachiquel nation to their aid, and 
soon collected a force of 30,000 combatants. A part of this host 
was detached to defend the mountains in the road from Petapa, 
by which they feared Pedro de Alvarado might return, while the 
main body suddenly fell upon the town, and, taking the inhabit- 
ants by surprise, killed many, wounded more, and put the rest to 
flight. After this defeat, the city was abandoned by the Spaniards, 
until the return of Alvarado, who, without loss of time, exerted 
himself to regain what they had been deprived of, and to reduce 
the Kachiquels once more to subjection. This was not done 
without great trouble, and several severe contests. He at last van- 
quished them, after a very obstinate battle, and they then 
submitted. This victory was obtained on the 22d of November, 
St. Cecilia's day." 



GUATIMALA. 223 

Paul III., and Pope Benedict XIV. in 1742 raised it 
to the rank of a metropolitan city. "■ It stands in a 
delightful valley, shut in by mountains and hills that 
always retain their verdure, and encompassed by 
meadows and lands which supply pasturage to large 
herds of cattle. Two rivers run through the valley, 
and supply to the gardens and meadows, the farms 
and country-houses, every convenience for irrigation. 
The climate is extremely agreeable, and of so happy 
a medium, that neither heat nor cold ever pre- 
dominates to the injury of vegetation ; but a perpetual 
spring presents its varied bounties. The city extends 
about twelve squares of houses (manzanas) * in the 
narrowest part : the streets are broad, straight, and 
well paved, running in right lines from east to west 
and from north to south, except in the suburbs, where 
are many both narrow and irregular. There are 
numerous fountains, supplied from three different 
springs ; and water is also diffused into all parts 
of the city by pipes, so that there is scarcely a house 
without three or four cisterns regularly replenished. 
There are large reservoirs in the streets and public 
places : that in the Great Square is worthy of notice, 
being constructed entirely of stone, very well wrought, 
and filled by two different streams that fall into it on 
opposite sides. The consistorial houses deserve atten- 
tion, both for the solidity of building, and their 
excellent distribution, as well as for an elegant cor- 
ridor fronting the square, formed by columns and 
arches of masonry. There are thirty-eight edifices 
appropriated to religious worship and establishments, 
viz. the cathedral, three parish churches, and sixteen 

* A manzana is a solid square of houses, formed by the intersec- 
tion of streets at right angles, and varying in extent from 150 to 
350 yards in front. 

PART IV. P 



224 GUATIMALA. 

others, eight convents for men, eight for women, the 
congregations of San Felipe Neri, and of Calvary, and 
eleven chapels. The cathedral is a magnificent 
temple, more than 300 feet long, 120 broad, and 
nearly seventy high, lighted by fifty windows ; it has 
three aisles, and eight chapels on each side, of which 
those of the Sanctuary and Nuestra Senora del 
Socorro are very spacious ; the decorations consist of 
beautiful statues, paintings of the best masters, many 
inestimable relics, and numerous utensils of gold and 
silver. The grand altar stood under a cupola, sup- 
ported by sixteen columns, faced with tortoiseshell, 
and adorned with medallions in bronze of exquisite 
workmanship ; on the cornice are placed the statues 
of the Virgin and the twelve apostles in ivory. In 
this sumptuous edifice, to which there are seven 
spacious entrances, repose the ashes of Pedro de 
Alvarado, the' conqueror of the country, of Francisco 
Marroquin, the first bishop, eight of his successors, 
and of many other illustrious men. The church 
of San Domingo deserved notice by its elegant design, 
great elevation, capacious vestibule, and splendid 
decorations, among which was a statue of the Virgin 
del Rosario, nearly six feet in height, of massive 
silver. In the church of San Francisco, one of the 
largest in the city, were three alcoves, beautifully and 
richly adorned, which contributed greatly to the splen- 
dour of the grand altar ; the singularly curious chapel 
of Our Lady of Loretto, in which the image of the 
Virgin of Alcantara * is worshipped ; at the portal 

* •« This image is not without its miracle, for it appears (from 
records juridically authenticated, obtained in the year 1601, and 
preserved in the archives of the convent), that it is the identical 
image which was worshipped at Alcantara in Estremadura, where 
the tradition was, that it had been found in the river Tagus, en- 



GUATIMALA. 225 

there are several statues of saints done in stucco, and 
enamelled, which far exceed any thing of the kind in 
the kingdom. But the greatest treasure in popular 
estimation belonging to the church, are the mortal 
relics of Pedro de San Jose de Betancurt, * that 
are preserved under the safeguard of three keys, in a 
niche on the left hand side of the presbytery. The 
church of the College of Jesuits, and that of Nuestra 
Seiiora de la Merced, each spacious, and with three 
aisles, possess their due share of magnificence. The 
Dominican, Franciscan, and Mercedarian convents, 
are the most remarkable for their size, solidity of the 
building, neatness, and convenient arrangement of 
their respective offices. Of the nunneries, that of La 
Conception is the largest ; it is said to have been 
formerly inhabited by upwards of 1,04)0 persons, nuns, 
pupils, and servants." -f- 

In the time of its prosperity, as the capital of 
the kingdom, Old Guatimala was the residence of the 
captain-general, who was also president of the chan- 
cery and royal audiencia. In 1676, the royal and 
pontifical university of San Carlos was founded by 
Charles II., on which, in 1687, Pope Innocent XI. 
conferred all the privileges enjoyed by the universities 
of Mexico and Lima. This city has given birth 
to many illustrious individuals. Among these, the 

closed with the infant Don Pelayo, in a chest, and the preservation 
of the prince was attributed to the special protection of his virgin 
patroness." 

* '« Pedro de Betancurt was a priest, native of the island of 
Teneriffe, who settled in Guatimala ; he was held in great estima- 
tion by the populace, who believed that he wrought miracles : the 
subject of his beatification was warmly debated in the Romish con- 
clave, but not carried; however, Pope Clement XIV. declared that 
his virtues were entitled to the most heroic degree." 

t Juarros, pp. 112—14. 



226 GUATIMALA- 

native Historian above cited enumerates, Christoval 
Flores, a Franciscan, of one of the noblest families of 
Guatimala, who suffered a cruel death for preaching 
Christianity in Algiers in 1627 ; Diego de la Cerda, 
of the order of La Merced, who was torn in pieces by- 
four horses at Constantinople for preaching Chris- 
tianity ; Bias de Morales, a Franciscan of noble race 
and exemplary virtue, who died in 1646 ; Alonzo 
Sanchez, a secular priest, who, for his eminent 
virtues, was honoured with a public funeral, — he died 
in 1652 ; Juan Bautista Alvarez de Toledo, of an 
illustrious family, who, after filling the Duns Scotus 
professorship in the university of San Carlos, was 
raised to the episcopal chairs, successively, of Chiapa, 
Guatimala, and Guadalaxara, and died in his native 
country in 1726 ; Juan de Padilla, a secular eccle- 
siastic of considerable literary attainments, who died 
in 1 749 ; Miguel de Zilieza y Velasco, of a noble 
family, bishop of Cuidad Real, where he died in 
1768; Antonio de Pineda y Ramirez, who accom- 
panied Malaspina, in a scientific capacity, in his 
voyage round the globe ; Ignacio Ceballos, dean of 
Mexico and Seville, member of the Royal Spanish 
Academy, and one of the compilers of the Spanish 
Dictionary; and lastly, Miguel Gutierres, an ex- 
jesuit, who died at Rome in 1794, — his life has been 
written in Latin by Luis Maniero. 

The history of Old Guatimala is singularly disastrous. 
Juarros devotes a separate chapter to its calamities, 
beginning with the Kachiquel revolt of 1526, and the 
destruction of the Ciudad Vieja, and bringing down 
the story to the fatal earthquake of 1773.* Although 

* In these disastrous annals of the first city, it is recorded, that 
in 1532, << the vicinity of the city was ravaged, and the inhabitants 
thrown into consternation, by aftow of inscommon magnitude and 



GU ATI MALA. 227 

the inhabitants had changed the situation of the 
town, they could not evade the calamities that still 
awaited them. In 1558, an epidemic disorder, 
attended with a violent bleeding &t the nose, swept 
away great numbers of the inhabitants. In 1565, 
a severe shock of earthquake seriously damaged many 
of the principal buildings. The earthquakes of 1575, 
76, and 77? were not less ruinous. " On the 27th 
of December, 1581, the population was again alarmed 
by the volcano, which began to emit fire ; and so 
great was the quantity of ashes thrown out and 
spread in the air, that the sun was entirely obscured, 
and artificial light was necessary in the city at 
niid-day. Processions were formed to implore the 
Divine intercession ; people confessed themselves aloud 
in the streets, being persuaded they were on the point 
of suffering some awful visitation of Providence. A 
northerly wind, however, at last relieved them from 
their fears, by dispersing the ashes towards the Pacific 
Ocean, and again allowing them to view the splendour 
of the sun. On the 14th of January, 1582, the 
mountain vomited fire with great force for twenty- 
four hours successively. 

" The years 1585 and 6 were dreadful in the ex- 
treme. On January 16, of the former, earthquakes 
were felt, and they continued through that and the 

ferocity," (probably the puma, or miztli, is meant,) " which 
descended from the forests on the Volcan de Agxm, and committed 
great devastations among the herds. A reward of 25 gold dollars, 
or 100 bushels of wheat, was offered by the town council to any 
person that could kill it; but the animal escaped even from a 
general hunting-party of the whole city , with Alvarado at the head 
of it. After five or six months' continual depredations, he was 
killed by a herdsman, who received the promised reward." In 
February 1536, a fire, originating in a blacksmith's shop, destroyed 
a great number of houses, in consequence of which forges were 
prohibited within the city. 



228 GUAT1MALA. 

following year so frequently, that not an interval of 
eight days elapsed, during the whole period, without a 
shock more or less violent. Fire issued incessantly, 
for months together, from the mountain, and greatly 
increased the general consternation. The most dis- 
astrous of these eruptions took place on the 23d Dec, 
158G, when the major part of the city again became a 
heap of ruins, burying under them many of the 
unfortunate inhabitants ; the earth shook with such 
violence, that the tops of the high ridges were torn 
off, and deep chasms formed in various parts of the 
level ground. 

" In 1601, a pestilential distemper carried off great 
numbers. It raged with so much malignity, that 
three days generally terminated the existence of such 
as were affected by it. In 1607, fresh shocks of earth- 
quakes were felt, causing great damage to several 
of the buildings, and killing many people. These 
terrible visitations did not return again until the year 
1640. In 1620, a fiery meteor appeared, and filled 
the inhabitants with terror and dismay, from their 
ignorance of the nature of such phenomena : similar 
appearances at the present day, as philosophy is better 
understood, would excite only admiration. Meteors 
of the same description appeared on the 14th April, 
1649; the 23d March, 1680; the 20th January, 
1681; in January 1688; and on the 18th of Sep- 
tember, 1691. 

" In the month of January 1623, the volcano was 
observed to be again in action ; it threw out much 
flame and thick smoke, accompanied by violent and 
loud reports, to the great terror of the inhabitants, 
but fortunately without injury. 

" On the 18th of February, 1651, about one o'clock, 
afternoon, a most extraordinary subterranean noise 



GUATIMALA. 229 

was heard, and immediately followed by three violent 
shocks, at very short intervals from each other, which 
threw down many buildings, and damaged others ; 
the tiles from the roofs of the houses were dispersed 
in all directions, like light straws by a gust of wind ; 
the bells of the churches were rung by the vibrations ; 
masses of rock were detached from the mountains ; 
and even the wild beasts were so terrified, that, losing 
their natural instinct, they quitted, their retreats, and 
sought shelter from the habitations of men. Among 
these, a lion of great size and fierceness entered the 
city, on the southern side, and advanced into the 
middle of it ; he tore down a paper" fixed against 
one of the consistorial houses, and retreated by 
the streets on the north side. These shocks were 
repeated frequently, until the 1 3th of April. 

u Very few years passed in which this devoted 
place did not experience the horrors of these exter- 
minating phenomena ; for, enumerating only such as 
caused serious damage since 1651, the worst were 
those in March 1679; 22d July, 1681; May 1683; 
August 1684 ; September and October 1687 ; and the 
12th of February, ] 689, which, a writer of that period 
asserts, was even more disastrous than the one in 1651. 

w The year 1686 brought with it another dreadful 
epidemic, which, in three months, swept away a 
tenth part of the inhabitants. Some of them died 
suddenly ; others expired under the most acute pains 
of the head, breast, and bowels. No remedy was dis- 
covered that could check its destructive progress, 
although many of the deceased were opened, to en- 
deavour, by that means, to come at the cause of the 
disorder. So great was the number of the infected, 
that there was not a sufficient number of priests to 
administer to them the religious rites. The bells 



230 GUATIMALA. 

were no longer tolled for the dead individually, and the 
corpses were buried, en masse, in a common grave. 
From the capital, the pestilence spread to the neigh- 
bouring villages, and thence to the more remote 
ones, causing dreadful havoc, particularly among the 
most robust of the inhabitants.* 

" Pursuing this narrative of misfortunes, the next 
in succession happened on the 1st of February, 1705 ; 
when the mountain again disgorged ashes and thick 
smoke in such abundance, that the sun was entirely 
obscured ; and the Guatimaltecans, like the ancient 
Egyptians, were enveloped in impenetrable darkness 
at noon-day, which continued for several hours. In 
1710, a violent eruption of smoke and ignited stones 
took place ; but no serious injury was sustained. 
The year 1717 was memorable : on the night of 
August 27th, the mountain began to emit flames, 
attended by a continued subterranean rumbling noise. 
On the night of the 28th, the eruption increased to 
great violence, and very much alarmed the inhabitants. 
The images of saints were carried in procession, 
public prayers were put up, day after day; but the 

* The author makes no mention of the manner in which 
this epidemic terminated; but, says his Translator, "religious 
ingenuity was not tardy in producing a miracle to remove so 
dreadful a scourge. The inhabitants being grievously alarmed 
at the frightful havoc among them, resolved upon the expedient of 
addressing public prayers to the Virgin for her interference ; they 
carried the image that is worshipped in the village of Almolonga, 
thence to the church of Calvary, in the city, in solemn procession. 
The rogation continued three days ; on the last day, about two in 
the afternoon, the face of the sacred effigy was perceived to be in 
a profuse perspiration for a long time: this prodigy was imme- 
diately certified officially by a couple of notaries who were present. 
In the evening, the image was restored to the village with becoming 
solemnity, and from that day the pestilence ceased ; no more 
persons were infected, and those who were sick recovered Imme- 
diately." 



GUATIMALA. 231 

terrifying eruption still continued, and was followed 
by frequent shocks, at intervals, for more than four 
months. At last, on the night of September 29th, 
the fate of Guatimala appeared to be decided, and 
. inevitable destruction seemed to be at hand. Great 
was the ruin among the public edifices ; many of 
the houses were thrown down, and nearly all that 
remained were dreadfully injured ; but the greatest 
devastation was seen in the churches. The inhabi- 
tants, from what they actually saw, and from what 
their terrors suggested to them, expected the total 
subversion of the place ; and nearly all sought refuge 
in the villages adjacent. After this disaster, they 
solicited permission of the Government to remove to 
any other spot that might be judged less exposed to 
the effects of the volcano ; but, by the time the 
council of the Indies transmitted a license for the 
removal, they had recovered from the panic, returned 
to their dilapidated dwellings, had repaired a great 
part of the city, and no longer thought of making the 
transfer. 

" In 1732, during the month of May, the volcano 
once more seemed to threaten fresh disasters, but 
nothing more than an eruption of flame, that con- 
tinued many days, then took place. In 1733, the 
city suffered very grievously from the small-pox, 
which, in one month, swept away 1,500 persons. 
This misfortune was followed, in June 1736, by a 
violent tempest, that threw down several houses, and 
many persons were buried under the ruins. 

" On the 27th August, 1737, the mountain was 
again in commotion, and discharged flames and smoke 
for some days successively ; numerous small craters, 
that emitted both fire and smoke, opened on the sides 
of it ; and, on the 24th of September, smart shocks of 
p 2 



232 GUATIMALA. 

earthquake took place, but fortunately without causing 
injury. On September 21, 1749, another violent 
tempest began, and continued for three days ; it was 
attended with an incessant heavy rain : the torrents of 
water that descended from the surrounding mountains 
caused much damage in the villages on the plain 
below. On the 4th of M arch, 1751, two very severe 
shocks were felt ; the first about eight o'clock in the 
morning, and the other at two in the afternoon : 
much injury was done by them, chiefly to the 
churches. 

" On the 8th of October, 1702, a heavy rain began, 
and lasted until the morning of the 9th ; by which 
the rivers were so increased, that great part of the 
country was inundated : on this occasion the large 
village of Petapa was destroyed, and the division 
of the city called the Barrio de los Remedios was laid 
under water. 

" The year 1773 was the most melancholy epoch in 
the annals of this metropolis ; it was then destroyed, 
and, as the capital, rose no more from its ruins. 
Since the year 1751, there had been no considerable 
misfortune sustained ; for although, in 1757> there 
had been the shock, distinguished by the natives 
as the earthquake of St. Francis, and, in 1765, that 
of the Holy Trinity, which spread devastation over 
the province of Chiquimula ; and afterward, that 
denominated St. Raphael's, which grievously devas- 
tated the province of Suchiltepeques ; yet, neither of 
these extended to the capital with sufficient violence to 
cause any extraordinary damage. In the month of 
May, some few slight shocks were perceived ; and, on 
the 11th of June, a very violent one took place. Its 
duration was considerable ; many houses and several 
churches were much injured : during the whole of 



G UATIMAL A. 233 

the night, the shocks were repeated at short inter- 
vals, and, for some days afterward, with less fre- 
quency. About four o'clock, on the afternoon of July 
29th, a tremendous vibration was felt, and shortly after 
began the dreadful convulsion that decided the fate of 
the unfortunate city. It is difficult, even for those 
who were witnesses of this terrible catastrophe, to 
describe its duration, or the variety of its undulation, 
so entirely did terror and the apprehension of imme- 
diate annihilation, absorb all powers of reflection. 
For several days these shocks continued, and some- 
times in such quick succession, that many took place 
in the short space of fifteen minutes. On the 7th 
September, there was another, which threw down 
most of the buildings that were damaged on the 29th 
of July ; and, on the 13th December, one still more 
violent terminated the work of destruction. To this 
memorable calamity succeeded a schism among the 
inhabitants, that caused many disagreeable dissen- 
sions. Two parties were formed; the one, terrified by 
the recent chastisement of Providence, and bearing in 
mind the miseries that had been so often endured 
from similar visitations, was desirous of establishing 
the city anew, in a situation further away from 
the mountain, and less exposed to such troubles. The 
other, arguing from constant experience, that there 
was scarcely a district throughout the kingdom which 
was not, at times, subject to the same inconvenience, 
contended that it would be better to rebuild the city 
on its present site, than to abandon the delightful 
climate, the fertile soil, excellent water, and the 
thousand other advantages they enjoyed in it; and 
that the very ruins of their former dwellings would 
furnish part of the materials for reconstructing them. 
The people had not well recovered from the consterna- 



234 GUATIMALA. 

tion inflicted by the events of the fatal 29th of July, 
when a meeting was convoked, for the purpose of col- 
lecting the sense of the inhabitants on the subject 
of the removal. This assembly took place on the 4th 
of August ; the governor presided, and it was attended 
by the archbishop, and all the persons of consequence 
who remained on the spot. In this meeting it was 
determined that all the public authorities should remove, 
provisionally, to the little village of La Hermita, until 
the valleys of Jalapa and Las Vacas could be surveyed, 
and until the king's pleasure could be ascertained 
on the subject. A member of the audiencia, two 
prebends of the cathedral, a regidor, and one of the 
principal inhabitants, were deputed to examine the 
two valleys. On the Gth of September, the governor 
and all the tribunals withdrew to La Hermita. The 
surveys of the just-mentioned places being completed, 
the inhabitants were again convoked to decide upon 
the transfer. This congress was held in the tem- 
porary capital, and lasted from the 12th until the 
16th of January, 1774 : the report of the commis- 
sioners was read, and, by a plurality of votes, it 
was resolved to make a formal translation of the city 
of Guatimala to the valley of Las Vacas." 

Matters were in this state, when the new fiscal of 
the royal audiencia, Don Jose Sistue, arrived at 
Guatimala, and once more agitated the question, 
whether the plain of La Virgen (in Mixco) would not 
be preferable to the plain of El Rodeo (in Las Vacas) 
for the capital. In consequence of a fresh survey, the 
former edict was now revoked, and a new decree 
directed the removal of the city to the plain of La 
Virgen. The royal assent was given to this measure 
on the 21st of July, 1775, and a decree of the 21st of 
September following, granted the whole revenue 



GUATIMALA. 235 

arising from the customs for the ensuing ten years, 
towards the expenses of erecting the new city. The 
ayuntamiento were in due form installed in the new 
situation on the 1st of January, 1776 ; tne university 
of San Carlos removed thither in November 1777 ; on 
the 22d of that month, divine service was performed 
for the first time in the temporary cathedral ; and in 
succession, the several parishes, convents, and churches 
were transferred as fast as circumstances would 
permit, a proclamation having been issued in Old 
Guatimala on the 29th of July, 1777, commanding 
the population to remove to the new city, within 
a year, and totally abandon the remains of the 
old one. 

" Some private individuals," continues Juarros, 
" many artisans, and a great part of the people, sup- 
posing, and, as it seems, not without reason, that the 
royal pleasure for removing the capital was intended 
as a matter of favour to the whole community, but not 
to force them to abandon the dwellings and con- 
veniencies they possessed in Old Guatimala, and seek 
habitations in the new capital, expected to remain in 
the quiet enjoyment of their homes. The governors 
of the kingdom put a very different construction upon 
the royal edict, and considered the translation of the 
capital, not as a matter of favour, but as a mandate 
for the total abandonment of the old city ; they were 
therefore inflexible in forcing the inhabitants to quit 
the proscribed soil. These, though grieved at resign- 
ing all they possessed in their old domicile, were 
unwilling to have it supposed they would oppose the 
royal pleasure, and reluctantly quitted their abodes : 
some repaired to the new city, others retired to 
the neighbouring villages, so that on the 30th of 
June, 1779? Old Guatimala, in compliance with 



236 



GUATIMALA. 



the governor's positive orders, from being the busy 
haunt of men, was transformed into a dreary solitude. 

" The cruel and tyrannical proclamation issued by 
Don Matias de Galvez, president of the royal 
audiencia, in the month of June 1779? for the deser- 
tion of Old Guatimala, deserves to be made generally 
known. He commanded that every inhabitant should 
quit the city within a prescribed (very small) number 
of days ; and that from the date of the proclamation, 
no artificer should there exercise his trade, without 
being liable to very severe penalties. Until the pub- 
lication of this order, it was a thing unheard of 
in any civilised country, that a man should be pro- 
hibited from supporting his family by the honest 
labour of his hands, at his settled abode. In con- 
sequence, many of these poor people were forced to the 
hard necessity of quitting the place, or of committing 
robberies to afford sustenance to those dependant 
upon them ; yet, notwithstanding the monstrous 
severity of the mandate, it was allowed to have its 
full effect." 

Caprice, intrigue, and interested motives, had pro- 
bably some share in dictating the transfer of the 
capital, and the arbitrary policy by which it was 
enforced. The old city, though greatly injured by 
the earthquake of 1773, " was not so generally 
dilapidated," says our Historian, " as it appeared to 
the terrified, or, it may perhaps be said, the interested 
imaginations of architects, engineers, and notaries. 
Great damage was certainly done in some quarters, 
particularly in those on elevated situations, as La 
Candelaria, San Domingo, Chipilapa, and part of San 
Sebastian. In the centre of the city, some houses 
were destroyed, but more remained unhurt, or 
slightly injured, as they sufficiently shew at this day ; 



GUATIMALA. 237 

in the lower quarters of San Francisco, Tortuguero, 
Chajon, and others, the effect upon the buildings was 
very slight. As to the most sumptuous buildings and 
public works, viz. the cathedral and other churches, 
the palaces and convents, it would have been necessary 
for the most part to pull them down entirely. On 
the other hand, as it was a well-known fact, that, 
since the Spaniards first settled in that valley, either 
at Tzacualpa or Panchoi, fifty years had never 
elapsed without the city's suffering some injury, it ap- 
peared more desirable to remove the capital once more, 
although at much greater expense, than to rebuild it 
in the same situation. The latter alternative would 
have been much easier and less costly, but it would 
have been labouring upon a calculation of only thirty 
or forty years' duration of the work." 

The inhabitants had not removed from the old city, 
when a malignant fever broke out, which raged till 
the month of May 1774, " making a horrible addition 
to the already lengthened list of mortality. The 
major part of the inhabitants settled in the new city ; 
but, by a change of soil, they could not evade the 
penalty of misfortune, suffering, and tribulation, in- 
flicted upon the human race : these followed them to 
their new domicile, where they experienced severe 
injury and much distress from dreadful storms of rain 
and hail, in which many persons were killed by light- 
ning. Since the ruin of Old Guatimala, the greatest 
suffering of the new city was from the small-pox, in 
1780, which extended nearly all over the kingdom. 
This distemper was of so malignant a character, that, 
in a few days, great numbers fell victims to it. That 
the infected might not die without the administration 
of the usual sacraments, the viaticum was carried from 
all the parish churches, and also from those of the 



238 GUATIMALA. 

regular religious orders. The defunct were not per- 
mitted to be interred in the churches, both on account 
of the numbers, and because serious injury might be 
done to the survivors, from the decomposition of bodies 
in a state of such virulent contagion : three cemeteries 
without the city were, therefore, consecrated for their 
sepulture. The zealous devotion of the Ayuntamiento 
on this melancholy occasion, was honourable in the 
extreme. Every effort was made to give assistance to 
the poor. A regidor took charge of each quarter of 
the city ; and one was always in attendance at the 
hospital established out of it, for the reception of the 
variolous patients. Inoculation was now, for the first 
time, practised in Guatimala, with the most complete 
success ; for, although so many perished of the con- 
tagion, scarcely one of those who were inoculated 
died." 

The proscribed city of Old Guatimala remained for 
some time in a state of complete desertion. At length, 
many of its former occupants covertly resumed their 
old abodes, and it has by degrees again become peopled. 
In the^year 1799, it was invested with the privileges 
of a town. Juarros states the population at upwards 
of 8,000 souls, among whom are some Spaniards, but 
the greater part are natives (ladinos). 

NEW GUATIMALA. 

The new city received, by royal appointment, the 
name of La Nueva Guatimala de la Asuncion, it being 
within the curacy of the hermitage of La Asuncion de 
Nuestra Seriora. Possibly, the inefficiency of the 
sainted patrons of the old city, Saint James and Saint 
Cecilia, might be an inducement to consecrate the new 
settlement to the Virgin under one of her many forms 



GUAT1MALA. 239 

of invocation. The spacious plain of La Virgen, in 
which it stands, forming part of the valley of Mixco, 
is five leagues in diameter. It is in a delightful 
climate : the inhabitants scarcely know a change of 
temperature. The plain is watered by several small 
rivers and lakes, which greatly conduce to its fertility; 
and although the new city is not surrounded with so 
many villages as Old Guatimala, yet, the markets are 
equally well supplied with provisions of every descrip- 
tion from the same quarters, and present a choice of 
vegetables, fruit, flowers, poultry, game, and other 
articles not often surpassed in any region. " The 
city forms a square about fifteen manzanas each way ; 
it is divided into four quarters, and the quarters into 
two barrios or wards, each superintended by its pecu- 
liar alcalde, elected annually from the residents, and 
exercising his jurisdiction under the control of the 
judge of the quarter, who is always a minister of the 
royal audiencia. For the administration of spiritual 
concerns, the city is divided into three parishes, each 
extending its whole length from east to west, and em- 
bracing a third part of it from north to south ; the 
centre is called the parish of the Sanctuary of the 
Cathedral ; the northern side, St. Sebastian's ; and 
the southern, Los Remedios. The streets, which 
cross each other at right angles, are twelve yards 
broad, the greater part of them paved : the houses, 
although rather low, to mitigate the violence of future 
earthquakes, are built in a good style, very commo- 
dious, and judiciously decorated, nearly all of them 
enjoying the advantage of kitchen and pleasure gar- 
dens, with two, three, and even more reservoirs of 
water. The great square is a rectangle 150 yards 
each way, paved all over, and having a colonnade on 
each side. The eastern side presents the grand en- 



240 GUATIMALA. 

trance to the cathedral, with the archiepiscopal palace 
on the right, and the college de Infantes on the left ; 
on the opposite side stand the royal palace, the hall of 
the audiencia, and offices belonging to that tribunal, 
the chamber of accounts, the treasury, and the mint ; 
on the north side are the houses of the corporation, 
prisons, markets, public granary, &c ; and on the 
south side, the custom-house, and the marquezado de 
Aizinena, &c. In the middle there is a large stone 
fountain of very superior workmanship, supplied with 
water, brought by means of pipes from the mountains 
to the south-east, upwards of two leagues distant ; 
from the same source, twelve public reservoirs in dif- 
ferent places and streets, besides many belonging to 
the convents and private houses, derive their supplies. 
This aqueduct is in some places carried over valleys, 
upon an extensive range of arches, and in others, 
through hills, by excavations, that have cost immense 
labour to complete. From the south-west, there has 
been another stream of water brought into the city by 
similar means, and although from a greater distance, 
it has, from the nature of the country through which 
it passes, been effected with much less difficulty. The 
cathedral is small, but in a fine style of architecture, 
and not yet completed : the pedestals and capitals of 
the columns, the vaultings of the chapels, and many 
other parts of it, are executed in a manner that en- 
titles them to the admiration of a scientific observer. 
Many other churches and convents are still in a pro- 
gressive state ; and, except the Jesuits' college with 
its dependencies, and eleven of the minor churches, 
are intended to be similar to those already mentioned in 
Old Guatimala. But besides those spoken of at the 
former place, there are, the college of Seises, the 
female seminary called the Visitation, the Hermitage 



GUATIMALA. 241 

del Carmen, situated on the summit of a hill near the 
city, and that of Our Lady of Guadalupe. On the 
north-east, adjoining the city, there is an extensive 
suburb, divided into two quarters and four barrios, 
over which the two ordinary alcaldes are the presiding 
magistrates : the parish of La Candelaria, and the 
college of the Visitation, are in this division, the 
streets of which are crooked and irregularly built." 

The population of the city, according to the census 
of 1795, amounted to 24,434 persons, including many 
families descended from the most illustrious houses of 
Old Spain. Since that period, the number of inha- 
bitants has greatly increased, and is supposed now to 
exceed 30,000. The Guatimaltecans are characterised 
by Juarros as, for the most part, docile, humane, 
courteous, liberal, aifable to strangers, and inclined to 
piety, but too generally chargeable with pusillanimity 
and indolence. " They possess an aptness for the 
arts, which is demonstrated by the great number of 
handicraftsmen in all trades, among whom there have 
been produced artisans of superior talents ; but those 
who acquire most celebrity are, the silversmiths, 
sculptors, and musicians. The productions of the 
sculptors are eagerly sought after, not only in this 
country, but in Mexico ; and even some that have been 
carried to Europe, have been highly esteemed by con- 
noisseurs. The class of weavers is numerous, and their 
looms produce fine muslins and gauzes, calicoes, and 
common cottons that are used in general wear by the poor 
people of the country. The potters are also a numerous 
tribe, who furnish earthenware and china sufficient 
for all the provinces : in the manufacture of some 
articles they excel so much, as to turn them out of 
hand but little inferior to the porcelain of Germany. 
Among the females, there are excellent embroiderers, 






242 GUATIMALA. 

mantua-maker8, and florists, who make artificial 
flowers that vie with the productions of nature. Great 
numbers of females are employed in the manufacture of 
a species of cigars, called tnza, that are peculiar to this 
country ; others spin cotton-yarn of every degree of 
fineness." 

In the year 1795, a society was instituted, under 
the title of the Royal Economical Society of Friends 
of the Kingdom, with the sanction of the Government, 
which, during the short time that it was suffered to 
exist, reflected high credit on its promoters. It had 
for its design, to ascertain the most effectual means of 
encouraging agriculture and the arts, and of advancing 
the public prosperity of the kingdom. The first ob- 
ject to which the members turned their attention was, 
the introduction of spinning-wheels ; and rewards 
were offered to females who should produce the best 
specimens of thread. With the view to encourage 
the cultivation of cocoa and cotton to a greater extent, 
premiums were next offered to the persons who should 
plant the greatest number of trees. To excite emula- 
tion among the weavers, prizes were assigned to those 
who presented the finest gauzes and muslins. To 
facilitate the progress of the arts, a school of drawing 
was opened in March 1797, in which thirty-two young 
men were gratuitously instructed for two hours (from 
seven till nine) every evening, and prizes were 
awarded once a month for the two best drawings. A 
mathematical school was opened in January 1798 ; 
and in January 1800, a model academy was opened. 
The society held a public sitting every half-year, at 
which the most distinguished personages of the capital 
attended. At these meetings, extracts were read from 
the journal of the Society's proceedings, the prizes 
were distributed to the successful candidates, and the 



GUATIMALA. 243 

sitting terminated with a discourse delivered by one 
of the associates. " The patriotic zeal of this body 
obtained for it a fresh mark of the royal favour by his 
majesty's communicating to it, on the 15th of July, 
1799, his entire satisfaction at the operations which 
had so powerfully contributed to the public advantage ; 
and he desired that the royal audiencia should propose 
to him such measures as they might think expedient 
to ensure its continuance. With these flattering pro- 
spects of success, on the 14th of July, 1800, contrary 
to all expectation, and to the astonishment of every 
person, a royal order was received, by which its fur- 
ther meetings and ulterior progress were prohibited, 
without vouchsafing any reasons for a determination 
so extraordinary and apparently injurious." This 
flagrant act of despotic authority illustrates in a strik- 
ing manner, the odious policy pursued by the Spanish 
Government towards the Colonies ; nor does it leave 
any room for surprise, that the Guatimaltecans, not 
less than the Mexican citizens, should have been im- 
patient of a yoke so galling. 

From the foundation of the university to the year 
1778, the lectures were delivered according to the old 
scholastic method. In that year, the first course of 
experimental philosophy was begun. In October 1792, 
examinations in geometry took place for the first time, 
which were repeated in May 1795. In 1789, 1790, 
and 1794, there were examinations in anatomy, for 
which purpose models were introduced, which are still 
preserved. " In March 1798, four young men were 
examined in surgery, being the first who had gra- 
duated in that faculty ; and in July 1799, there were 
examinations in philosophy according to the Socratic 
method."* Attached to the university are twelve 
* Juarros, pp. 138 — 144. 



244 GUATIMALA. 

professorships and a public library. In 1793, was 
instituted, by royal permission, the Protomedicato, or 
college of physicians, composed of a president, two 
examiners, and a fiscal. The Economical Society, 
before its arbitrary suppression, laid the basis of a 
royal cabinet of natural history. Besides these insti- 
tutions, Juarros enumerates three schools for the 
gratuitous instruction of youth in the elementary 
branches of knowledge, and two classes of Latin 
grammar. It remains for future travellers to tell us, 
what further progress science and literature have 
made in the capital during the last five and twenty 
years, and what, besides changing its form of govern- 
ment, the Revolution has effected for Guatimala. 

Among the other chief places in the alcaldia-mayor 
of Sacatepec, we have already mentioned Almolonga, 
for some time the residence of the alcalde -may or, and 
one of the most beautiful villages of the kingdom. 
It contains a splendid parochial church, with an image 
of the Virgin that is held in high repute, and a Fran- 
ciscan convent. The Indian inhabitants claim the 
privileges of nobility, as being descended from the 
Mexicans who accompanied Alvarado at the conquest. 
Their principal employment is supplying the capital 
with fruit, which they procure from the more distant 
villages. The climate is cold. San Juan Sacatepec 
was also for some time the head town of the alcaldia ; 
it is now the most populous village in the province, 
containing upwards of 6,000 inhabitants, and is de- 
scribed as a very handsome place. The air is salu- 
brious, the climate temperate, the soil extremely 
fertile, and the market well supplied ; the inhabitants 
are chiefly employed in agriculture and sugar manu- 
factories, San Juan Amatitan, situated in the vicinity 



GUATIMALA- 245 

of the lake of that rvame, is a favourite watering- 
place with the citizens of Guatimala. It is situated 
in a plain surrounded by very high mountains, which 
give it, Juarros says, a somewhat melancholy aspect ; 
hut, being in the vicinity of the lake Amatitan, and 
having a beautiful river flowing on the eastern side of 
it, the fine climate and its contiguity to the capital, 
occasion it to be very much frequented for the purpose 
of drinking the waters of the river, which is a specific 
in many cases ; others retire thither to take the baths, 
and others again for their recreation. The streets 
are broad and straight, and the houses are commo- 
dious. The church contains a famous effigy of the 
infant Saviour, which was originally placed in a little 
hermitage at Belen, a village three leagues distant ; 
but the archbishop, to prevent the mischiefs occa- 
sioned by large meetings in retired places, ordered 
it, in 1789, to be transferred to the church of San 
Juan, whither a vast concourse of worshippers an- 
nually repair on the first Sunday in May. The inha- 
bitants employ themselves in fishing for moharra, 
crabs, and cray-fish in the lake, which they dispose of 
in Guatimala ; in raising melons and water-melons 
for the same market ; and in the manufacture of 
baskets and mats. The inhabitants of Villa Nueva 
de San Miguel in like manner subsist by fishing on 
the lake, and raising bananas for the capital. Villa 
Nueva de Petapa is a well-built village, situated in a 
delightful plain, four leagues from the metropolis. 
There are some very good houses, a handsome church, 
and an oratory; the streets intersect each other at 
right angles, and there is a spacious plaza. The in- 
habitants cultivate maize. San CJiristoval de Ama- 
titan, about three leagues from San Juan Amatitan, 
is celebrated for a species of lizard found there, which 
is believed to be a cure for cancers ; the Indians are 



246 GUATIMALA. 

said to have used this medicine from the earliest pe- 
riods. San Domingo Mixco, situated on the declivity 
of a mountain, and commanding a view over the 
extensive valley of Mixco, is famed for its mineral 
spring ; the inhabitants are carriers and potters, and 
cultivate maize. Santa Catalina Pinula stands at the 
foot of the ridge of mountains called Canales, two 
leagues S.E. of Guatimala. In this place is a seminary 
for the education of young females, — an establish- 
ment not to be found in any other village. The insti- 
tution has obtained the royal sanction : the individuals 
on the establishment maintain themselves by the pro- 
duce of their gardens and their bee-hives. At Nu- 
estra Senora de la Asuncion Jocotenango, a. village 
contiguous to Old Guatimala, is held an annual fair 
for horses, mules, and merchandise, which is numer- 
ously attended. La Ermita de la Asuncion, the mo- 
ther-church of that which was subsequently built in 
the plain of La Virgen, is a small place situated in the, 
valley of Las Vacas, on the river of the same name. 
Nuestra SeTiora de Guadalupe, is a modern village, 
built for the gardeners who supply the market of 
the capital: the church was consecrated so lately as 
1803. 

In the alcaldia-mayor of Chimaltenango, which ex- 
tends about twenty leagues in length and as many in 
breadth, the principal places are : Santa Ana Chim- 
altenango, the head town, about eleven leagues from 
the metropolis ; the public square is very handsome, 
having on one side an extensive sheet of water. Tec- 
'panguatemala* formerly a residence of the Kachi- 
quel monarchs. Here was built the second church in 
the kingdom. The climate is still colder than that at 

* That is, above Guatimala, or, Upper Guatimala ; for such is 
said to be the meaning of tecpan. So, Tecpanatillan was a dis- 
tinct place from Atitlan. 



GUATIMALA. 247 

Santa Ana, and is favourable to the growth of wheat, 
maize, peaches, quinces, apples, pears, &c. ; the neigh* 
bourhood abounds also with timber, which is sent to 
Guatimala in planks. The inhabitants, who exceed 
3,000, have a high character for industry and other 
estimable qualities. Patzum contains 5,000 inhabi- 
tants of the Kachiquel nation, who are very industri- 
ously occupied in similar pursuits ; and the climate is 
much the same as at Tecpanguatemala. Patzizia is 
a large village, containing not fewer than 5,000 inha- 
bitants, all labourers ; the climate is cold and humid. 
San Andres Itzapa contains about 1,500 persons, who 
raise wheat, maize, pulse, and vegetables, and feed 
large herds of hogs ; the climate is cold, but dry. 
Here is held a large annual fair on the eve of Saint 
Andrew, the patron saint. San Sebastian del Texar 
is placed by Juarros in the alcaldia of Sacatepec, 
although within the valley of Chimaltenango : it is 
remarkable only for a medicinal spring. San Martin 
Xilopetec stands in the mildest climate of the valley, 
where the sugar-cane is cultivated with success, afford- 
ing full employment to several manufactories; the 
population is considerable. San Antonio Nexapa, 
San Juan Alotenango, and San Miguel Milpa Duenas^ 
are also heads of curacies within this province. 

That which first claims the traveller's notice among 
the natural curiosities of the valley of Guatimala, is 
the gigantic Volcan de Agua (water -volcano), which 
is thus described by Juarros. " This mountain is of a 
conical figure ; its base extends over nearly all the 
western part of the valley of Guatimala. On the side 
towards the city, the ascent by the road from the base 
to the summit, is three leagues and a half ; and from 
the side towards Alotenango, it is more than four 
leagues. The circumference at the bottom is eighteen 

PART TV. Q 



248 GUATIMALA. 

leagues. Cultivation is confined %o the lower parts of 
the mountain ; the middle region is covered with 
thick forests ; and during great part of the summer, 
the city is supplied with snow from the upper region. 
On its skirts are numerous mineral and medicinal 
springs, and many Indian villages, besides a great 
number of detached houses and farms. On the sum- 
mit is a concave space, resembling a crater, measuring 
about 140 yards by 120. From the edge of this crater, 
a most beautiful prospect presents itself in every direc- 
tion ; — Old Guatimala, with its fertile fields and 
numerous farms, the village and lake of Amatitan, 
with all the surrounding country, can be distinctly 
seen. Looking westward, the provinces of Suchil tepee 
and Soconusco, and even the plains of Chiapa may be 
discovered ; to the eastward, the provinces of Zonzo- 
nate, Santana Grande, and San Salvador, with the 
lake of Gilopango, may be distinguished ; on the north 
and south, the view is bounded by the two oceans." 
The mountain, seen from the plains, has a magnificent 
appearance in every direction : its conical figure, the 
great variety of colour on its surface, the various culti- 
vation and gardens which adorn the base, its belt of 
forests, and its snowy summit,* give it a highly pic- 
turesque as well as majestic character. Although 
there can be little doubt of its being an extinct 
volcano, there exists no tradition of its having ever 
emitted fire. The eruption of 1541 consisted merely 



* In another part of his work, Juarros describes this mountain 
as covered to the summit with trees that always retain their ver- 
dure ; yet, it is stated above, that it supplies the city during great 
part of the summer with snow. He affirms, moreover, that it is 
the most lofty in the kingdom. The fact we apprehend to be, 
that it loses its snow at certain seasons of the year; and if so, its 
elevation does not reach the region of perpetual snow. 



GUATIMALA. 249 

of an immense torrent of water, carrying with it im- 
mense stones, and, if Father Remesal may be believed, 
the crown of the mountain itself.* Humboldt sup- 
poses that subterraneous water had no small share in 
producing the stupendous phenomenon of Jorullo, but 
that volcano emitted flames and discharged lava. 

Old Guatimala is to the northward of this moun- 
tain, which stands between two volcanoes, the Volcau 
de Pacaya on the east, and the Volcan de Fuego on 
the west. From each of these, there have been violent 
eruptions from time immemorial. The most remark- 
able on record were, that of July 11, 1775, from 
Pacaya, and those of the years 1623, 1705, 1710, and 
1717, from the Volcan de Fuego. There happened 
one as recently as the close of the eighteenth century, 
but, as it was unattended with any serious conse- 
quences, it excited little attention, although it lasted 
several days. The waters of a spring on the side of 
Alotenango were observed to have become heated, 
during the eruption, to such a degree, that cattle were 
unable to pass through the rivulet running from it. 
The Volcan de Fuego is included in the alcaldia of 
Chimaltenango. At its base, near the village of San 
Andres, there is a thermal spring, the water of which 
is very hot, and is held in great repute for its medicinal 
virtues : it is called Saint Andrew's Bath. At a short 
distance is another warm spring, that emits a strong 
sulphureous smell, and is deemed an efficacious remedy 
for cutaneous complaints. The general figure of this 
mountain is conical, but its. summit is divided into 
three points, in the westernmost of which may be 
seen several openings, which frequently emit flames, 

* Probably, an accumulation of snow on the summit, which 
might add to the apparent height of the mountain. 



250 GUATIMALA. 

pumice-stones, sand, and smoke. The Volcan de Pa- 
caya stands to the eastward of Old Guatimala, but 
southward of the present capital, and three leagues 
from Amatitan. This mountain also has three dis- 
tinct peaks. It is connected with a chain of eleva- 
tions extending to a great distance. The surrounding 
country is thickly covered with the accumulation of 
volcanic matter that has been formed by its numerous 
eruptions. Fuentes says, that, in his time, there was 
scarcely a day throughout the year, in which one or 
other of its lofty peaks did not emit flames. In the 
year 1064, " such immense quantities of flames were 
vomited forth with the most appalling explosions, 
that, during the night, the city of Old Guatimala, at 
the distance of seven leagues, was illuminated by a 
light not inferior to that of mid-day ; and the terror 
produced by the vibrations of the earth was so great, 
that the inhabitants were afraid to trust themselves 
within their houses during the three days of its con- 
tinuance. Similar events occurred in 1G68, 1671, and 
1677 ; hut there are no records of any others after the 
time of Fuentes, until that which took place on the 
11th of July, 1775, when, at day-break, without any 
previous noise, or any perceptible oscillation of the 
earth, a dense cloud of smoke was observed from Old 
Guatimala* in a south-west direction, which rose 
from behind the range of mountains that concealed the 
volcano from the view. To discover the flames, it was 
necessary to go to the village of Santa Maria de 
Jesus, whence could be distinguished the aperture 
through which they burst. From this arose a large 
column of thick smoke, and vast quantities of burning 



* Where the writer, Don Domingo Juarros, was resident at the 
time. 



GUATIMALA. 251 

stones that fell again into the crater. Sand was also 
thrown out in such abundance, that, being carried by 
the wind, it fell so copiously in Old Guatimala as to 
obscure the light of the sun, and thickly cover the 
ground. The wind having changed, the sand was 
carried in a southerly direction as far as the provinces 
of Escuintla and Suchiltepec. It was remarked on 
this occasion, that the eruption was not from either of 
the summits, but from the region where the mountain 
divides into three peaks." 

The lake of Amatitan will claim the attention of 
the scientific traveller. Its shores are said to produce 
salt, like those of the lake of Tezcuco,* in which the 
inhabitants carry on a considerable trade ; there are 
also several warm springs on its borders, which are 
found very beneficial in the case of glandular swellings 
in the throat, to which the females of this country 
are subject. In all probability, the waters of the lake 
will be found impregnated with the muriate and car- 
bonate of soda, as well as some kind of sulphate. It 
is about three leagues in length, and one in breadth at 
its widest part; its depth is not specified. It fur- 
nishes an inexhaustible supply of fish, but there are 
none of the larger kinds : they consist of the moharra, 
a fish about a foot in length, and of excellent flavour ; 
the pepesca, which does not exceed three inches in 
length, but is reckoned a delicacy; crabs and cray- 
fish ; and a species called pescaditos. 

The valley of Las Vacas f is watered, on its eastern 



* See vol. i. pp. 266, 315. 

f This valley received its name (the Cows) from being the place 
where cattle were first introduced into the kingdom by one of the 
companions of Alvarado, from the island of Cuba. They multi- 
plied here so fast, that they were soon dispersed over all parts of 
the country. 

q2 



252 GUATIMALA. 

side, by the river Chorrera, which deserves notice on 
account of the supposed petrifying quality of its waters. 
u If the root or branch of a tree fall so that a part of it 
lies in the water, the portion which is immersed, becomes 
petrified into a substance of a shining white or grey 
colour, but the other part remains in its natural state ; 
and it is observed, that where the current is rapid, the 
transformation is more speedily effected than in places 
where the stream is slow." The explanation of this 
phenomenon is not very difficult. The waters are 
highly impregnated with calcareous matter, which, 
when the stream is slow, is precipitated, but is held in 
solution where the current is rapid, and forms a de- 
posite on whatever obstructs the course of the stream. 
Juarros adds, that " the substance thus transformed 
always preserves its natural porosity and fibrous tex- 
ture." This can hardly be true with regard to the 
part covered with the incrustation; but it is suffi- 
ciently evident, that the waters have, properly speak- 
ing, no petrifying quality.* 

In the valley of Petapa, some human bones of 
gigantic size are said to have been discovered, and 
among them, Fuentes says, " a tooth as large as a 
man's two fists !" Possibly, some fossil animal remains 
may be found here. In the valley of Sacatepec, near 
the village of San Pedro, u a mine of rubies (and sil- 
ver) was accidentally discovered in the year 1681," 
by the curate of the village. The account given of 
the circumstance by the above-mentioned Historian, 
is as follows : u As the father was amusing himself 
one afternoon, he directed his walk towards a pass in 
the mountain, through which ran a clear rivulet. On 

* See, for an account of the petrescent waters of Laara and the 
petrified beach of Selinty, Mod. Trav. Syria, %c. vol. ii. pp. 251, 
253, 26V. 



GUATIMALA. 253 

the side of the bed of this river, he observed a vein of 
white clay, interspersed with red and black patches. 
Being attracted by the variety and brilliance of the 
colours, and the reflection of small sparkling sub- 
stances, he took up a part of the clay, which he car- 
ried to Guatimala, and gave to the licentiate, Christo- 
val Martin, an intelligent man, conversant in the na- 
ture of metals ; who, having fused the mass, which 
weighed three pounds, delivered to the curate, on his 
return, a piece of pure silver rather more than half an 
ochava (about forty grains) in weight, and seven ru- 
bies of the size of small beans. A few days after the 
discovery, the curate was elected prior of the Domini- 
can convent of Guatimala, which obliged him to quit 
his curacy ; and no more >was heard of the mine." 
Fuentes states, that he had actually had the silver 
and the gems in his hands. Juarros repeats the story 
without comment, so that, up to the close of the last 
century, no attention appears to have been paid to the 
discovery, although there is strong reason to believe 
that the calcareous formation which evidently prevails 
in this part, will be found richly argentiferous. 

Don D. Juarros gives, from the same Historian, an 
account of a very remarkable cavern, called the cavern 
of Mixco, in the valley of Xilopetec, near where the 
ancient village of Mixco stood. " On a small ridge 
of land on one side of the ruins of ancient Mixco, is 
the entrance to the cavern, about three yards each 
way. The portico, formed of clay, is in some parts 
entire, and appears to be of the Doric order. Fuentes 
says, he inquired of some old Indians, how it had been 
contrived to give so great a consistency to the clay ; 
and they informed him, it was done by grinding a 
quantity of onion-seed, and mixing it in the water 



254 GUATIMALA. 

with which the clay was tempered. From the en- 
trance, a flight of thirty-six stone steps, each of a 
single piece, descends to a lofty saloon about sixty 
yards square. From this chamber the descent con- 
tinues by another flight, beyond which nothing more 
is known, as no person sufficiently courageous, or im- 
prudent enough to resist the indications of imminent 
danger from the tremulous motion of the ground 
under foot, has yet advanced more than a few paces. 
Descending eighteen steps of this second flight, there 
is, on the right hand, another doorway, forming a 
perfect arch ; and having passed this, there are six 
steps, in all respects similar to the former, from which 
there is a passage about 140 feet in length. Further 
than this part, it has not been explored. Many ex- 
traordinary accounts of it have been fabricated, but 
they are such as will not bear repeating." 

In this same district (Xilopetec), are other excava- 
tions not less deserving of attention. " The river 
Pancacoya, which rises near the pass of Pasacab, 
descends with great rapidity from a lofty rock, but, 
before it reaches the plain, it passes through a conduit 
formed in the rock, about a yard and a half wide, and 
sufficiently high for a man to pass through with ease. 
Where this channel terminates, there is a range of 
columns curiously wrought, with capitals and mould- 
ings ; and a little further on, are several round 
cisterns formed in the rock, about a yard and a half in 
diameter, and nearly a yard in depth." There is 
a tradition, that this part of the river was a washing 
place for gold ; and it is supposed, Juarros says, that 
the cisterns were excavated for that purpose. This is 
highly improbable. All these excavations are doubt- 
less to be referred to the same period and the 



GUATIMALA. 255 

same artists, and class with Montezuma's Bath at 
Tescosingo,* the Casas de Piedras at Palenque,-]- and 
the Palace of Mitla in Oaxaca ; $ not, perhaps, as 
monuments of the same people or era, but as indi- 
cating a striking analogy in the respective customs 
and attainments in civilisation of the Aztec, Zapotec, 
and Kachiquel nations, and possibly a common origin. 
We must not omit to notice one still more marvel- 
lous Guriosity which is found in these regions, — an 
animal which becomes transformed into a vegetable ! 
Such is the grave statement of the Historian so fre- 
quently referred to. Near the villages of San Chris- 
toval, Amatitan, and Pampichin, he tells us, is found 
the green chapuli, a large species of grasshopper, 
or locust, about a span long ; at the extremity of its 
tail is a sharp curved point like a thorn, which 
becomes hard when the animal has attained its full 
growth. " If killed in this state, and carefully 
opened, a small bunch of seeds, similar to those of the 
passion-flower, about an inch long, attached to rami- 
fying fibres, is found in the intestines : these grains 
being sown, will produce a plant like the gourd, 
which will bear a fruit resembling small pompions, as 
yellow and brilliant as gold ; the seeds of which, sown 
again, will bring forth similar fruit, but of much 
larger size." Were these seeds to bring forth grass- 
hoppers, it might be accounted for. It may, indeed, 
occur to the reader, that the chapuli must first have 
swallowed these seeds ; but Francisco de Fuentes as- 
sures us, on the unimpeachable testimony of Tomas de 
Melgar, a venerable priest, and Don Domingo Juarros 
is satisfied of its correctness, that this vegetable spawn 

* See vol. i. p. 333. t See p. 157 of the present volume. 

% See p. 130. 



256 GUATIMALA. 

is actually produced from the intestines of the insect ; 
and the said priest, having sown the seeds, found the 
result to accord precisely with the ahove statement. 
We commend the chapuli to the especial attention of 
the learned naturalists of Europe. 

To the west of the alcaldia-mayor of Chimalte- 
nango, between Suchiltepec and Escuintla on the 
south, and Totonicapan and Vera Paz on the north, 
lies the province of 

SOLOLA. 

This alcaldia was formed by the union of the two 
separate corregimientos of Atitan and Tecpanatitlan, 
or Solola, which are still considered as distinct dis- 
tricts. It is of small extent, but populous ; lying be- 
tween lat. 14° 25' and 15° 10' N., and long. 92° 46' 
and 93° 46' W. ; the population amounts to 43,000 
souls. The district of Solola, which includes the 
eastern part of the province, was included in the 
ancient kingdom of Kachiquel. Nuestra Senora de la 
Asuncion de Solola, the head town, was the ancient 
Tecpanatitlan, the residence of one of the royal house 
of the Kachiquels. It is situated on the summit of an 
elevated ridge, in a cold climate, about twenty-eight 
leagues from Guatimala. The inhabitants, who 
amount to upwards of 5,000, are Indians, chiefly 
artisans and mechanics. 

Santa Cruz del Quiche, in this district, is the 
modern representative of the once large and opulent 
capital of the sovereigns of Quiche, the city of Utatlan. 
It is situated on an extensive and very fertile plain, is 
moderately populous, and contains a Dominican priory. 
Such is all the information which Juarros is able 
to communicate respecting the modern village ; but 



GUATIMAL. 257 

" that indefatigable writer, Francisco tie Fuentes, 
who went to Quiche for the purpose of collecting 
information, partly from the antiquities of the place, 
and partly from manuscripts," gives the following 
description of the ancient city. It stood nearly in the 
situation which Santa Cruz now occupies, and the latter 
is supposed to have been originally a suburb. The city 
was surrounded by a deep ravine, which formed a 
natural fosse, leaving only two very narrow roads as 
entrances, which were defended by the castle. The 
centre of the city was occupied by the royal palace, 
which was surrounded by the houses of the nobility, 
the extremities being inhabited by the plebeians. The 
streets were very narrow. The alcazar, or palace, in 
the opinion of Torquemada, could compete in mag- 
nificence with that of Montezuma at Mexico, or 
that of the Incas at Cuzco. It was constructed of 
hewn stone of various colours. The front extended 
376 paces from east to west, and it was 728 paces 
in depth. There were six principal divisions. The 
first contained lodgings for a numerous troop of 
lancers, archers, and other troops, constituting the 
royal body guard ; the second was assigned to the 
princes and relations of the king ; the third, to 
the monarch himself; the fourth and fifth were oc- 
cupied by the queens and royal concubines ; and the 
sixth was the residence of the king's daughters and 
other females of the blood royal. The third division, 
appropriated to the use of the king, contained distinct 
suites of apartments for the morning, the evening, 
and night. In one of the saloons stood the throne, 
under four canopies of feathers.* In this part of the 

* The Indians are said to have distinguished the degrees of 
sovereignty among their chiefs by the throne itself. That of 
Utatlan, which was the first in rank, was placed under four cano- 



258 GUATIMALA. 

palace were the treasury, the tribunals of justice, and 
the armory, together with gardens, aviaries, and 
menageries. The female apartments were of great 
extent ; and attached to them were gardens, baths, 
and places for breeding "geese,* which were kept for 
the sole purpose of furnishing feathers for ornamental 
furniture. The castle of the Atalaya (watch-tower) 
was a remarkable structure, four stories in height. 
That of Resguardo (defence — probably the citadel is 
meant) was five stories high : it extended 188 paces 
in front, and was 230 feet in depth. From this 
description, these castles would seem to have re- 
sembled the Mexican teocallies, and the stories were 
possibly terraces. It is impossible to gather from this 
vague account, what remains yet exist of the " palaces, 
castles, and temples," of this Indian metropolis. 
Utatlan, Juarros says, was indisputably the most 
magnificent and opulent city, not only of Quiche, but 
of the whole kingdom of Guatimala. As such, its 
site would especially deserve to be examined by future 
travellers. Of the Indians of this district, some 
speak the Quiche, and some the Kachiquel dialect. 

pies, formed of feathers, each of different colours and of different 
sizes, fixed one within the other. The throne of Kachiquel, 
or Guatimala, had three canopies ; and that of Atitlan, or Zutugil, 
had but two. — Juarros, p. 164. 

* This is obviously a mistake, chargeable, we suspect, not on 
the historian, but his translator. Humboldt says, " The goose is 
the only one of the birds of our poultry-yards which is no where to 
be found in the Spanish colonies of the New Continent."— (Pol. 
Essay , vol. iii. p. 56.) The turkey, called in Mexico, totoUn and 
huexolotl, is probably meant. Cortes relates, that several thousands 
of these birds were fed in the poultry-yards of the castles of Mon- 
tezuma. They were formerly found wild on the ridge of the Cor- 
dilleras from Panama to New England. The ancient Mexicans 
had also tame ducks, which they annually plucked, as the feathers 
were an important article of commerce. 



GXT'ATIMALA. 259 

The capital of the Zutugil kingdom was Atitlan, 
M otherwise called Atziquinixai, which, in the Quiche 
dialect, means the eagle's house ; a name originat- 
ing in the practice of their kings, who, when they 
took the field, wore, as a distinguishing device, a large 
plume of the quetzal's feathers in the form of an 
eagle." This extensive city, Juarros says, was in a 
position strongly defended hy natural bulwarks, among 
steep, hanging rocks, on the border of the lake of 
the same name, which protected it on the south side. 
Its site is occupied by the village of Santiago Atitaii 
(corrupted or softened, apparently, from Atitlan), 
the chief place in the district of the same name, which 
comprises the western part of the province of Solola. 
It stands on the south side of the lake, in a mild and 
healthy climate, 28 leagues W. of Guatimala, and 
contains upwards of 2,000 Indian inhabitants. The 
village was anciently a mission of the Franciscans, 
and one of the earliest founded in the province : the 
convent was rebuilt about the middle of the last cen- 
tury. Atitlan is shorn, however, of all its ancient 
splendour. If there are any remains of the Indian 
capital, Juarros does not mention them. 

The lake of Atitan is one of the largest in Guati- 
mala, being eight leagues in length from east to west, 
and more than four leagues from north to south. It is 
entirely surrounded by mountains and rocks of irre- 
gular form. w From its margin there is no gradation 
of depth, but the banks are precipitous, and the bot- 
tom has not been found with a line of 300 fathoms. 
Several rivers discharge themselves into it, and. it 
receives all the waters that descend from the moun- 
tains ; but there is no perceptible channel by which 
this great influx is carried off. The water is fresh, 
and so cold, that in a few minutes it benumbs and 

PART IV. R 



£60 GUATIMALA. 

swells the limbs of those who attempt to swim in it. 
The only fish caught in it are crabs, and a species of 
small fish about the size of the little finger (pepescas ?). 
These are in such countless myriads, that the inha- 
bitants of all the ten surrounding villages carry on a 
considerable fishery for them. The communication 
between one village and another is carried on by 
canoes." According to this account, (which will 
require, however, to be verified,) this lake would seem 
to be one of the most remarkable phenomena in the 
country. In the absence of all specific information 
with regard to its elevation and other circumstances, 
it would be idle to frame a conjecture as to its origin, 
or the probable communication of its waters with some 
other reservoir. The fish which it contains, are the 
same as are found in the lake Amatitan. May there 
not be some 'connexion between these lakes, at least 
the fathomless one, and the Volcan de Agua ? Near 
the village of Atitan is a mineral spring of " sour 
water," which " exudes in the form of dew from the 
rock, and trickles into a channel, forming a stream 
sufficient to fill small vessels. On account of its medi- 
cinal virtues, it is in great request, and is sent to 
distant parts : it is an excellent remedy for nephritic 
complaints, and cures the swellings in the throat, so 
common in this kingdom, where the complaint is 
called bosio, and more vulgarly gueguecho. The water 
has a flavour resembling lemon, but it leaves no taste 
in the mouth." A chemical analysis is a process which 
has never yet been achieved in the kingdom of Guati- 
mala. 

The climate of this district is for the most part 
mild ; the soil fertile, producing cocoa, maize, pulse, 
all sorts of culinary vegetables, aguacates of extraordi- 
nary excellence, and a variety of other fruits, aniseed, 



GUAT1MALA. 261 

drugs, and cochineal. In these articles, aided by the 
labours of cabinet-makers, carpenters, and potters, the 
inhabitants carry on a tolerably lucrative commerce 
with the adjoining provinces and the metropolis. The 
natives speak the Zutugil and Kachiquel languages. 
Half of the curacies in this district belong to the 
Franciscans, whereas, in the district of Solola, the 
Dominicans are the chief proprietors. 

Of the five middle provinces, two still remain to be 
described ; they are named, from their chief towns, 

QUEZALTENANGO AND TOTONICAPAN. 

The ancient kingdom of Quiche extended over great 
part of both these provinces, and the Quiche is still 
the prevailing dialect. Next to Utatlan, the most 
considerable city in that kingdom was Xelahuh, 
which occupied the site of the modern town of Quez- 
altenango del Espiritu Santo. This was the first 
place founded by Alvarado after his conquest of the 
Quiche Indians. "It is beyond doubt," says Juar- 
ros, " the most important, rich, and flourishing vil- 
lage of the kingdom, surpassing in several respects 
many of the towns and cities. The population is 
great, viz. (in 1778) 464 Spaniards, 5,536 Ladinos, * 
and 5,000 Indians. The Ladinos rear large flocks of 
sheep, and cultivate extensive tracts of lands for 
wheat. There are numerous artisans in all branches, 
and thirty manufactories of fine linen cloths of various 
colours, serges, and coarse cloth of different kinds, in 
which 190 workmen are employed, besides several looms 
for the manufactory of cotton goods. The corregidor of 

* Ladinos is a Spanish word signifying intelligent, or sagacious : 
it is the general appellation given in Guatimala to the Indians who 
profess Christianity, to distinguish them from the other natives. 



262 GDATIMALA. 

the province has his residence here. There is a post- 
office, a depot of tobacco, others of gunpowder, salt- 
petre, and playing-cards, (all royal monopolies^) a cus- 
tom-house, a deputy-commissioner of lands, and a 
vice-consulate. There is a Franciscan convent under 
the authority of a guardian. The principal church 
is capacious, rich, and well furnished, in which the 
chapel of Nuestra SeTwra del Rosario is very curious 
as well as in good taste: there are also five other 
churches. The market is better supplied than any 
other, excepting only that of Guatimala ; the annual 
sales average 18,000 bushels of wheat, 14,000 dollars 
worth of cocoa, 50,000 of panelas,* 12,000 of sugar, 
30,000 of woollen cloths, and 5,000 of cotton cloth, and 
provisions of all kinds in proportion." This estimate 
was made between forty and fifty years ago, at which 
time the whole population of the province amounted 
to about 34,000. In 1823, it is computed to have 
risen to nearly 44,000. That of the head-town may, 
therefore, be supposed to have increased in some- 
thing like the same proportion. The other chief 
places in this corregimiento are ; El Barrio de San 
Marcos Sacatepec, a small village of Spaniards and 
Ladinos, who breed cattle, cultivate wheat and maize, 
and manufacture some woollens and linens, — popula- 
tion between 2 and 3,000; Santa Catalina Sunil, 
population 3,000 ; San Juan Obstuncalco^ with 1,300 
inhabitants ; Tajamulco, a small village, situated at 
the base of a volcano of that name, which is. subject to 
frequent eruptions, — this place affords a copious-sup- 
ply of excellent sulphur, as it did to the soldiers of 
Alvarado; Olintepec ; Tacana ; San Martin; San 



* Small loaves of unrefined sugar, much used by the natives in 
making rum, or chica. 



GUATIMALA. 263 

Pedro Saca tepee ; and Santa Cruz Comitan. The 
languages in use are, the Spanish, the Quiche, and 
the 31 am. 

This province (corregimiento), which lies hetween 
the 15th and 16th parallels of north latitude, and he- 
tween 93° 26' and 94° 36' of west longitude, is thirty- 
five leagues in length from S.E. to N.W., and about 
twenty leagues in breadth from N.E. to S.W., form- 
ing the figure of a spheroid. It is bounded by Solola 
on the south-east ; Suchiltepec on the south ; Soco- 
nusco on the west ; and Totonicapan on the north- 
west, north, and north-east. The temperature is 
cold, and admits of the cultivation of wheat, maize, 
potatoes, peaches, apples, quinces, cherries, &c. The 
natives also tend sheep, which are the best branch of 
their trade. 

The alcaldia-mayor of Totonicapan, the most west- 
ern of the interior provinces, lying between lat. 15° 
12' and IJf« 20' N., and long. 92° 16' and 93° 26' W., 
is bounded by Quezaltenango and Solola on the south ; 
Vera Pa* on the north-east ; and Chiapa on the north 
and west. Its greatest length is sixty-six leagues ; its 
breadth fifty. The population, in 1778, consisted of 
2,750 Ladinos, and 55,450 Indians dwelling in fifty 
villages. In 1823, the total number of inhabitants 
was 90,000. The province is divided into the two dis- 
tricts of Totonicapan and Gueguetenango. The for- 
mer extends over the eastern part, which is high 
table-land, enjoying much the same climate, and yield- 
ing the same productions as the other districts of the 
ancient kingdom of Quiche, of which it formed part. 
San Miguel Totonicapan, the residence of the alcalde* 
mayor, is five leagues from Quezaltenango, eleven 
from Solola, and thirty-eight from Guatimala. Of 
the inhabitants, in 1778, 450 were Ladinos, 578 



264 GUATIMALA. 

cacique Indians, descended from the Tlascaltecs who 
accompanied Alvarado, and nearly 6,000 Maseguales, 
or plebeian Indians. The Franciscans have a convent 
here. The natives are expert in the manufacture of 
guitars, fancy-boxes, and other articles of cabinet- 
work and earthen-ware. They have, besides, some 
woollen manufactories. The climate is cold and 
humid. Near this town there are two warm mineral 
springs.* San Luis Sahcaja, situated within the 
district of Totonicapan, only two leagues from Quez- 
altenango, is the site of the first establishment made 
by Pedro de Alvarado, and its church is the first that 
was consecrated to Christian worship in this country. 
It originally bore the name of Quezaltenango, which 
signifies " the mountain of Quezales ;" but, on the 
transfer of its population, four years after the founda- 
tion of the town, to Xelahuh, that name became appro- 
priated to the latter place. The present hamlet of 
Sahcaja was built in 1780, the date of another small 
hamlet of Ladinos, named San Carlos Sija, situated 
under a very cold climate. The other chief places are, 
San Francisco el Alto, Momostenango, and Santa- 
Maria Chiquimula, each of which contains a popula- 
tion of from 5 to 6,000 souls ; San Chris toval Totoni- 
capan, 3,500 inhabitants ; and San Andres Xecul, 
about 1,200. 

The district of Gueguetenango, which forms the 
western part of the province, lies on the declivity of 
the cordillera, and has consequently a great variety 
of climate. In the upper parts wheat is grown, and 

* The ancient name of the town is said to have been Cheine- 
quenciy signifying " upon warm water." The waters, Juarros says, 
are strongly impregnated with sulphur, and are so hot, that eggs, 
fruit, or even flesh put into it will be perfectly boiled in a short 
time* In the rivulet which flows from it, the weavers cleanse 
from grease the wool for their looms. 



GUATIMALA. 265 

sheep are pastured : in the lower cantons, are sugar 
plantations, and Chili pepper is raised. Conception 
Gueguetenango, the chief place, (and formerly the 
head of the alcaldia,} enjoys a mild and benignant 
climate, and yields excellent fruit ; it is, however, a 
very inconsiderable place, the population having de- 
clined. At one league's distance is Chiantla, famed 
for its sanctuary of the Virgin of Candelaria, a favour- 
ite idol in these parts. Grapes, oranges, figs, and 
pears are grown in its gardens, but the chief article of 
commerce is lead, obtained from a rich mine that also 
yields some silver and litharge. The vernacular dia- 
lect here is the Mam. The population is under 1,000. 
San Domingo de Sacapulas, situated on the banks of 
the river from which it takes its name, is in a hot and 
dry climate. On the banks of this river the natives 
collect salt, which is deposited by the waters. The 
town is inhabited by about 2,000 Quiche Indians. 
Springs of salt water are found at the village of San 
Mateo Istatlan (or Ixtataii), a name signifying " the 
land of salt." " At the foot of a large mountain, are 
several caverns, penetrating about two yards in the 
rock: from the roof of these, the water continually 
exudes. If a vessel be filled with it, and placed over 
a slow fire at night, it will be found in the morning 
crystallised into a fine salt, without any further pro- 
cess. The Indians are very economical in the distri, 
bution of this water ; the caverns are locked up, and 
the keys are kept by the magistrate. They are opened 
only on Thursdays at a fixed hour, when the people 
assemble, and each person receives a pitcher-full ; the 
magistrates and ecclesiastics are entitled to double 
portions. A considerable traffic is carried on in this 
article, which they sell in the adjacent provinces, de- 
riving from it sufficient emolument to enable them to 



266 GUATIMALA. 

live very comfortably." This village stands in a 
ravine, at a short distance from the river Lacandon : 
the climate is very cold. On the borders of Totoni- 
capan stands the small village of San Francisco Mo- 
tocinta, " no otherwise deserving of notice, than for 
the phenomenon of the river near it, the water of which 
is of a poisonous quality, and so active, that animals 
drinking of it die almost immediately. When ca*tle 
are obliged to pass the river, the owners take the pre- 
caution of muzzling them, to prevent the certain mor- 
tality that would be the consequence of their being 
suffered to allay their thirst." * The Indians of this 
village weave mats of a scarlet colour, that are much 
used in the country. 

This province is watered by several rivers. Juarros 
enumerates the Zamala, the Sija, the Motocinta, the 
Sacapulas, the Zumacinta, the San Ramon, and the 
Cuilco. Most of these fall into the Southern Ocean ; 
but the Zumacinta (or Sumasinta) discharges itself 
into the Atlantic. The Zamala (or Samala) is the 
same river that first bears the name of the Siguila, 
flowing near the village of San Miguel Siguila, and 
afterwards, at Olintepec, assumes that of Xiqui- 
gil, or river of blood, in commemoration of the num- 
bers of Quiche Indians who fell there in disputing the 
passage with Alvarado. Continuing its course by 
Quezaltenango, it receives the river Sija, and passes 
by Sunil ; it then enters the province of Suchiltepec, 
where it is called the Samala, and finally falls into the 
Pacific. There are several mountain-streams, which, 
falling from lofty rocky eminences, form cascades of 
exquisite beauty : for instance, the fall of the river 

* Can this deleterious property arise from its traversing mines 
erf lead ore ? 



GUATIMALA. 267 

San Christoval de Paula, another on the road to the 
Ranchos Altos of Totonicapan, and those at the village 
of Guistla de los Xiotes. 

But the most remarkable phenomena in this part 
of the country are, the intermittent rivers. Herrera, 
the historian, mentions a spring in the province of 
Chiapa, which regularly flows during three years, and 
is then dry for a similar period, and thus alternately. 
This spring is said to be situated on the side of a 
mountain, about half a league from Cuidad Real. 
The rivulet is called Yeiochihuiat, a Mexican word 
signifying " three-years'-water." "At the expiration 
of the term of three years, the fountain dries up, and 
the waters burst forth at a place five leagues distant, 
near Teopisca. The natives of that village give this pe- 
riodical spring the name of Ohxavilha, which, in the 
Tzendal language, means the same as the Mexican 
name. After this spring has flowed for three years, 
it disappears, and the water rises again at the former 
place." Such is the information obtained by Juarros 
from a resident in confirmation of Herrera's statement. 
Fuentes, he adds, gives another instance of a similar 
fountain near Chiantla, which flows and is dry for 
three years together alternately, with this additional 
peculiarity, that the waters appear and disappear in- 
variably on the eve of St. Michael. " This writer de- 
clares, that he had in his possession documents written 
by Diego de Rivas, other monks of the order of La 
Merced, and several curates of unimpeachable character, 
attesting the fact. With a view to ascertain the cor- 
rectness of this account, and whether the phenomenon 
yet existed, the present writer obtained the favour of 
a reference on the subject to a clergyman resident in 
the province, who, in reply, declared, that he had 
examined several old men of the village, all of whom 
r2 



268 GDATIMALA. 

assured him, with very little discrepancy in their nar- 
ratives, that, in a hollow between two mountains, 
about three leagues from Chiantla, there is a rivulet 
which begins to flow on Michaelmas-day, and con- 
tinues for three years, at the end of which it stops on 
the same day, and remains dry for three years ; and 
on this account the place is called San Miguel." Who 
can resist the conviction, that the Saint himself is the 
worker of this triennial miracle ? Fuentes mentions 
another rivulet, in a meadow to the northward of 
Chiantla, called Higuero, the waters of which begin to 
flow twenty days before the periodical rains cease, 
and become completely dry twenty days before the 
rains begin. He states also, that during the period 
that he was corregidor of Totonicapan, as he was 
travelling from Aguacatlan to San Juan Ixcoy, " the 
channel of a little stream was pointed out to him, 
which the Mam Indians called Xubanha, implying 
water that is whistled for ; because, by whistling at 
the openings of some clefts in a solid rock, water will 
immediately gush forth, of which there is no appear- 
ance unless that method be used to exhibit it." He 
speaks also of a subterranean river, that shews itself 
through a large aperture at the foot of a hill about 
two miles from the village of Chialchitan. At this 
spot, a large quantity of water " boils up," and forms 
at once a stream of considerable magnitude. Another 
river of moderate size falls into a deep pool, and dis- 
appears, near a place called Rancho de las Minas ; 
it rises again on the opposite side of a ridge of moun- 
tains near the river Socoleo. From all these accounts, 
making due allowance for whatever inaccuracy or 
romance may have mingled itself with the facts, it is 
evident, that, in the heart of the mountains, there must 
exist a series of caverns and natural galleries, tra- 



GUATIMALA. 269 

versed by subterranean rivers, — such as M, Humboldt 
conjectures to exist in the limestone formation in the 
neighbourhood of Tehuilotepec and Platanillo.* For 
the periodical circulation of the waters, it is not easy 
to account ; but the whole region is full of wonders, 
and might seem the theatre chosen by the genii of the 
watery element to display their fantastic feats. The 
water volcano, the fathomless lake of Atitlan, the 
triennial rivers, the dripping rocks, and the numerous 
hot springs, all seem to form connected parts of the 
stupendous hydraulic machinery. 
• The agency of fire is doubtless at the same time 
concerned in some of these phenomena. Besides the 
volcano of Tajamulco already mentioned, in the neigh- 
bourhood of which is found so much sulphur, Juarros 
mentions another in the same province, called Ex- 
canul: this, however, may be the same under another 
name. A spring of tepid water highly sulphureous is 
found at San Bartolome Aguas Calientes, and several 
warm springs are found on the banks of the river 
Siguila near Sunil. The whole region abounds with 
salt and sulphur in different combinations, and may 
be compared to one vast laboratory, of which it might 
be said, that the volcanoes are so many colossal fur- 
naces. 

In the province of Quezaltenango, there still exist 
vestiges and foundations of many large Indian for- 
tresses ; among others, the celebrated one of Parrax- 
quin (green mountain), on the confines of Totonica- 
pan and Quezaltenango, and the citadel of Olintepec, 
** formed with all the intricacy of a labyrinth," which 
was the chief defence of the important city of Xelahuh. 

* Vol. i. p. 357. 



270 GUATIMALA. 

Fortresses existed at Socoleo, Uspantlan, Chalcitan, 
(Chialchitan ?) and other places. 

An interesting specimen of ancient art is inci- 
dentally referred to by Juarros, in the description 
of the city of Patinamit in the kingdom of Kachi- 
quel, situated eleven leagues from the modern vil- 
lage of Tecpanguatemala. * In a deep ravine near 
that city was " a place of worship," wherein was 
placed " a black transparent stone," which, in some 
unexplained way, was consulted as an oracle, the 
priests affecting to discover on its surface a represen- 
tation of the fate awarded to the criminal by the gods. 
This oracle was also consulted in the affairs of war. 
" The bishop, Francisco Marroquin, having obtained 
intelligence of this slab, ordered it to be cut square, 
and consecrated it for the top of the grand altar in the 
church of Tecpanguatemala. It is a piece of singular 
beauty, about half a yard each way." We may hope 
to receive before long, some more distinct account of 
this oracular stone. The description of the city of 
Patinamit, given by Fuentes, makes it appeal* to have 
been a stronger and more remarkable place than Utat- 
lan itself. Though a little out of its place, we shall 
insert it here. Patinamit was seated on an eminence, 
the plane of which extends about three miles from 
north to south, and about two from east to west. 
The soil is covered with a stiff clay about three 
quarters of a yard deep. On one side of this area 
may be seen the remains of a magnificent build- 
ing, perfectly square, each side measuring 100 paces. 
This fabric was constructed of hewn stone, extremely 
well put together. In front of the building is a large 
square, on one side of which stand the ruins of a 
• See page 246. 



GUATIMALA. 271 

sumptuous palace, and near to it there are the founda- 
tions of several houses. A trench, three yards deep, 
runs from north to south through the city, having 
a breast-work of masonry, rising about a yard high. 
On the eastern side of this trench stood the houses of 
the nobles, and on the opposite, the residences of the 
masegualeS) or commoners. The streets were, as may 
still be seen, straight and spacious, crossing each other 
gj right angles. To the westward of the city is a little 
mount, that commands it, on which stands a small, 
round building, about six feet in height, in the middle 
of which is a pedestal formed of a shining substance 
resembling glass ; but the precise quality of it has not 
been ascertained. Seated around this building, the 
judges heard and decided causes ; and here also their 
sentences were executed, after the oracular stone in 
the ravine below, had been consulted. A deep de- 
file, or natural fosse, surrounded Patinamit, the per- 
pendicular depth of which from the level of the city, 
was more than 100 fathoms. The only entrance to 
the city was by a narrow causeway, terminating at 
two gates, one beyond the other, constructed of the 
chay stone. The dimensions of these works are not 
given, but the gigantic nature of the fortress bears 
some analogy to that of Xochicalco in Mexico.* The 



* See vol. i. p. 339. The hill of Xochicalco, which Humboldt 
describes as a mass of rocks to which the hand of man has given a 
regular conical form, is surrounded, in like manner, by a deep and 
very broad ditch : the whole entrenchment is above 12,000 feet in 
circumference. " The magnitude of these dimensions," adds the 
learned Traveller, <f ought not to surprise us : on the ridge of the 
Cordilleras of Peru, and on heights almost equal to that of the 
Peak of Teneriffe, M. Bonpland and myself have seen monuments 
still more considerable. Lines of defence and entrenchments of 
extraordinary length, arc found in the plains of Canada. The 



2 ^ 2 GUATIMALA. 

city of Mixco in Xilotepec was, in like manner, built 
on the summit of a steep rock, accessible only by a 
narrow path that would not admit two persons 
abreast, and intersected by deep ravines. It is said 
to have been founded by the Pocomam Indians, 
and is about nine leagues from the modern town 
of Mixco. The Vale of Tenochtitlan is not richer 
in ancient monuments, than that of Guatimala and 
the adjacent provinces. Yet, Pompeii itself was n6t 
more effectually shrowded from observation, pre- 
viously to its disinterment, than these regions have 
hitherto been from the eye of science or of taste, 
through the incurious spirit and jealous policy of the 
Spanish Americans. 

The most remarkable object which this district pre- 
sents to the naturalist, is " the bat-winged squirrel," 
found on the mountains and in the woods of Quezal- 
tenango, Totonicapan, and Solola. Its figure and 
size, Juarros says, are those of the common squirrel, 
but it has two small wings resembling those of the 
bat, without hair or other covering : it can fly, how- 
ever, but a short distance. In point of fact, we ap- 
prehend, it cannot be said to fly at all, but only to 
leap. Such at least is the account generally given by 
naturalists of the American flying squirrel. The 
supposed wing is only a loose skin attached to the 
bending of the hinder feet, and connected by a bony 

whole of these American works resemble those which are daily 
discovered in the eastern part of Asia. Nations of the Mongol 
race, those especially that are most advanced in civilisation, have 

built walls that separate whole provinces Among the hiero- 

glyphical ornaments of the pyramid of Xochicalco, we distinguish 
heads of crocodiles spouting water, and figures of men sitting 
cross-legged, according to the custom of several nations of Asia." — 
Humboldt's Researches, vol. u pp. 109—11. 



GUATEMALA. 273 

articulation with the fore feet, which the animal has 
the power of extending like a sail ; and it then holds 
so much air as to huoy him up, and enable him to 
jump from tree to tree at a prodigious distance. 
We must now proceed to give some account of the 



PROVINCES ON THE ATLANTIC COAST. 

To the south of the peninsula of Yucatan, between 
Chiapa and Totonicapan on the east, and the Bay of 
Honduras on the west, and bounded by Solola on the 
south, lies the province (alcaldia-mayor) of Vera Paz, 
called by the Indians Tuzulutlan. The Spaniards at 
first gave it the name of Tierra de Guerra (land of 
war), from the warlike spirit of the natives, by whom 
they were three several times repulsed in their at- 
tempts to conquer it. Charles the Fifth bestowed on 
it the name of Vera Paz, because the Indians em- 
braced Christianity merely from the preaching of the 
missionaries. The account which Juarros gives of 
this prodigious phenomenon (for such it appeared to 
the armed apostles and crusading religionists of those 
times) is as follows: M In the year 1536, Bartolome 
Las Casas, Pedro de Angulo, Luis de Cancer, and 
Rodrigo de Ladrada, of the Dominican order, settled 
in the city of Guatimala. Las Casas, who was vicar 
of the convent, had, some years before, written a 
treatise, which he called c De unico vocationis modo ;' 
in which he attempted to prove, and with great eru- 
dition, that Divine Providence had instituted the 
preaching of the gospel as the only means of conver- 
sion to the Christian faith ; for by those means alone 
can the understanding be persuaded, and the inclina- 
tion be led, to embrace its tenets ; consequently, 



274 GUATIMALA. 

harassing by wars those whose conversion is sought 
for, is the means of preventing, rather than accom- 
plishing, the desired object. Hence it results, that, 
to obtain this end, war cannot, in justice, be made 
upon those who have never been subject to a Christian 
authority, or have never committed any act of aggres- 
sion against Christians. This reasoning was gene- 
rally believed fallacious ; and when the author pro- 
mulgated and endeavoured to prove it from the 
pulpit, as well as in private assemblies, instead of pro- 
ducing conviction among his auditors, he was laughed 
at, treated with ridicule, and advised to put in prac- 
tice what he had preached in theory ; as he would 
then be with certainty undeceived by the bad success 
of his rash enterprise. 

" Firm in his opinion, and possessing too much 
courage to be intimidated by taunts, Las Casas un- 
hesitatingly accepted the proposal. The province of 
Tuzulutlan, which the Spaniards called Tierra de 
Guerra (the land of war), as they had been three 
several times driven back in their attempts to conquer 
it, but which the Emperor Charles the Fifth after- 
ward called V&rapaz, because the natives were brought 
within the pale of Christianity by the exertion of the 
missionaries only, was pitched upon by him as the 
scene of his first endeavours ; and this region, that 
the Spaniards were unable to subdue by their arms, 
yielded to the mild persuasion of a few zealous eccle- 
siastics. The Dominicans, previously to commencing 
their undertaking, entered into an agreement with 
the governor, Alonzo de Maldonado, that such pro- 
vinces as might be reduced to the obedience of the 
crown of Spain by their efforts, were not to be put 
under the charge of any individual ; and that no 



GUATEMALA. 275 

Spaniards should be permitted to reside in them during 
a period of five years. The governor assented to these 
terms, and signed an agreement of that purport on 
the 2d of May, 1537 ; which was confirmed by the 
king on the 17th of October, 1540, and again on the 
1st of May, 1543. 

" This arrangement being concluded, the Domini- 
cans composed some hymns in the Quiche language ; 
in which they described the creation of the world, the 
fall of Adam, the redemption of mankind, and the 
principal mysteries of the life, passion, and death of 
the Saviour. These were learned by some of the 
converted Indians, who traded with those of Saca- 
pulas and Quiche, where the chief cacique of that 
country, who was afterwards called Don Juan, having 
heard them sung, asked those who had repeated them 
to explain more in detail the meaning of things so 
new to him. The Indians excused themselves from 
so doing, on account of their inability to perform it 
correctly, saying, they could be explained only by the 
fathers who had taught them ; and these were so kind 
that, if he would send for them, they would gladly 
come and instruct him in every thing. The cacique 
was pleased with the information, and sent one of his 
brothers, with many presents, to entreat that they 
would come to make him acquainted with every thing 
contained in the songs of the Indian merchants. The 
fathers received this ambassador with great kindness, 
and much satisfaction to themselves, and determined 
that one of their number, Luis Cancer, should return 
with him to the cacique. The chief went to the en- 
trance of the village to meet the missionary, treated 
him with great veneration, and after having been 
made to comprehend the mysteries of the new faith. 



276 GUATIMALA. 

he fervently adopted it, burnt his idols, and became 
a preacher of the gospel to his own subjects. 

" Cancer returned to Guatimala, and the favourable 
reports he made, so much rejoiced Las Casas and 
Angulo, that, in December 1537, they set out for the 
residence of the cacique Don Juan. They visited the 
whole district of Tuzulutlan, where they were well 
received ; and having reconnoitred a part of it, they 
returned to the cacique Juan. At this time the 
fathers endeavoured to assemble the Indians in vil- 
lages ; for, as they were then living dispersed, there 
was greater labour in civilising and instructing them. 
With this object in view, they undertook to form 
villages ; and, by the assistance of the chief, they 
soon succeeded, but not without much labour, and 
some opposition, in establishing the village of Rabinal. 
This object having been satisfactorily accomplished, 
they penetrated further into the province, and reached 
Coban y being every where well received by the na- 
tives.* Las Casas affirms, in his u Apologetical His- 
tory," that in no part of the Indies did he find 
governments better ordered, or ruled by better laws, 
than those he met with in this district. Thus, the 
Indians of Verapaz, brought to live in societies under 

* " It may at first sight appear inconsistent and contradictory to 
say that the missionaries arrived at Coban and other places, and 
afterward, that they persuaded the natives to live in villages ; but 
it must be observed, that, in the time of their paganism, these 
Indians had villages similar to some still existing, that are called 
Pajuyues, in which the houses are so far distant from each other, 
that a place containing 500 inhabitants, will extend a league or 
more. These fathers, and some of the first conquerors, placed 
them in villages formed after the Spanish manner, with the church 
jn the centre, before it the square, with the cabildo or town-house, 
prison, and other offices, the houses connected in squares, the 
streets straight and crossing each other at right angles." 



GUATIMALA. 277 

a rational legislation, and instructed in the dogmas of 
true religion, embraced Christianity with ardour, and 
cheerfully submitted to the empire of the Spanish 
monarch. Such was the case, not only in Rabinal 
and Cohan, but in places more remote, as Cahahon, 
and others. 

" After the conquest of Verapaz, thus fortunately 
and mildly achieved, the Dominicans next undertook 
that of Alcald. In the year 1552, Thomas de la 
Torre, vicar-general of the order, arrived at Cohan, 
in his visit to the diiferent convents. At this period, 
Domingo Vico had made himself master of the lan- 
guage of Alcald, and accompanying the vicar-general, 
they made their first entry into that province ; where 
they preached with so much zeal and fervour, that 
they induced many natives to embrace Christianity, 
and give up a great number of their idols, which were 
publicly burnt. They pursued their apostolical labours 
with diligence, converting and baptizing many ; but, 
being repeatedly warned that some of the infidels 
meditated their destruction, they withdrew privately. 
Some time after this, Vico renewed his visit to Alcald, 
and succeeded in making many proselytes. Being 
appointed prior of Cohan, he sent Alonzo Vayllo, and 
some others, into Alcald ; and not long after, the 
conventuals of Cohan went thither on a similar mis- 
sion. The three years of Vico's priorate having ex- 
pired, he made another excursion into that province, 
and exerted himself with unwearied zeal to persuade 
the inhabitants to form societies, and build villages ; 
labouring incessantly to promote their welfare, until 
he fell a martyr to his kindness. He was killed by 
them on the 29th of November, 1555. Remesal makes 
no mention of Alcald after Vico's death; and it is 



278 GUATIMALA. 

supposed that further attempts to reclaim them were 
abandoned. 

" Adjoining the province of Verapaz is that of 
Manchz, the reduction of which was occasioned by the 
following circumstances.* About the year 1570, some 
of the principal Indians came to Coban^ where they 
were well received, and much caressed by Thomas de 
Cardenas, Bishop of Verapaz, and other residents in 
the convent. This pleased them so highly, that after- 
ward they frequently came to Cahabon^ the nearest 
village to their own territories. On these visits, the 
fathers always instructed them on religious subjects, 
and exhorted them to embrace Christianity ; the an- 
SAver uniformly given was, that they would consider 
about it, but they remained undecided with respect to 
giving up their native mode of worship until 1603. 
In this year, a chapter of the Dominican order was 
held in the convent at Sacapulas; and Alonzo Criado 
de Castilla wrote to the members, recommending them 
most earnestly to undertake the conversion of Manche. 
The means by which this service was to be effected, 
were discussed in the assembly, with great attention, 
several times ; and the result of these conferences 
was, to order Juan de Esguerra to prepare for under- 
taking the mission as speedily and effectually as pos- 
sible. On the 25th of April, Esguerra, accompanied 
by Salvador Cipriano, left Cahabon for Manche, and 
reached the first village of that province on the 1st of 
May, which being St. Philip's day, they called it after 
the saint. The cacique advanced to meet them, and 
regaled them according to the manner of his country, 
with all the distinction he could shew ; the principal 

* This district, as well as Alcala, is now included in Vera Paz. 



GUATIMALA. 279 

chiefs of the other villages that they visited, followed 
the cacique's example. The fathers preached to the 
Indians in all the places they visited ; and having ex- 
plored as much of the territory as they then could, 
returned to Cahabon, At the desire of the president, 
Esguerra persuaded some of the caciques to accompany 
him to Guatimala, where they were received by the 
governor, and treated with every mark of attention 
and kindness ; he presented them with dresses of silk, 
and gave them others for their wives. This good 
treatment operated strongly in making the Indians lay 
aside the fear they entertained of the Spaniards, and 
led them to consider the offer of Christianity as liable 
to fewer objections than they had entertained against 
it. In February of the following year, 1604, the same 
missionaries undertook another journey into Manche ; 
in May, they were followed by some more, and, in 
addition to these, care was taken to send some of the 
baptized Indians from Cahabon into the villages of 
Manche^ that they might use their influence in ex- 
horting the inhabitants to attend to the instructions 
of the fathers. These means were so successfully plied, 
that in 1606, eight villages had entirely abandoned the 
pagan rites, to kneel before the altars of Christianity, 
and submit to the government of Spain."' 

In 1764 and the following two years, the Dominican 
fathers made repeated attempts to convert the Indians 
of the Choi nation, whose country lies to the north- 
east of Vera Paz. Some of the Chols, it seems, had 
arrived at Guatimala, to request that missionaries 
might be sent to them, and the audiencia ordered- 
Francisco Gallegos, the provincial of the order, to 
depute proper persons to undertake the mission. The 
provincial determined to go in person, attended by 
Father Jose Delgado. On arriving at Cahabon^ the 



280 GUAT1MALA. 

last village in Vera Paz, they procured Indian guides, 
and, after a journey of twenty -three leagues, arrived 
at the dwellings of the Indians who had visited the 
capital. " At this place they assembled as many of 
the Chols as they could collect, and built a village 
which they named San Lucas, and soon afterward two 
others not far distant from the first. They subse- 
quently penetrated into the sierras further to the 
north, and ascended a very lofty mountain, which was 
designated by the natives, the God of the Hills. On 
the other side of this mountain were great numbers of 
inhabitants, who immediately came to visit the fathers ; 
and these having made them comprehend, that they 
had been sent by the Almighty for their instruction, 
were treated with great kindness and respect ; the 
natives saying, that they appeared among them like 
the sun, moon, and stars, to dispel the darkness of 
their ignorance. The Indians then cleared a road for 
them to advance further into the country, and, as they 
arrived at any difficult or rough part, carefully carried 
them over it. In this manner they continued their 
route, and in the space of eight leagues, three more 
villages were marked out. The rainy season was now 
approaching, and the fathers returned to Guatimala. 

" In 1676, the same zealous missionaries again visited 
the Chols and the Manches, and encountered much 
less difficulty or fatigue than in either of their former 
journeys, as a more direct path had been opened for 
them. They found the Indians still persevering in 
their designs, and that they had not forgotten such 
instruction as had been already afforded to them : 
many more settlements were formed, in which 234 
persons were admitted to the rite of Christian bap- 
tism, besides many others at the different dwellings 
and small settlements dispersed among the mountains, 



GUATIMALA. 281 

In 1678, for what reason cannot now be discovered, 
the Chols returned to their native worship, abandoned 
the villages, blocked up the roads, dispersed among 
the mountains, and thus destroyed the expectations 
that had been raised at the expense of so much labour 
and fatigue." 

No further attempts were made till the year 1685, 
when Augustin Cano, then provincial of San Domingo, 
penetrated once more into the mountains, and suc- 
ceeded in persuading some of the Chols to return and 
settle again in the village of San Lucas ; but, three 
years afterwards, these untoward neophytes again set 
fire to the village, and the missionaries resident there 
narrowly escaped with their lives. This want of suc- 
cess in the use of fair means, determined the Spanish 
Government to revert to the shorter method of con- 
version by means of the sword. In 1688, the alcalde- 
mayor of Vera Paz undertook an expedition into the 
country in search of the apostates, and brought back 
as many of the natives as he could induce to follow 
him, whom he settled in the valley of Urran, where 
their posterity still remain. The Spanish monarch 
now growing impatient, fresh commands were issued 
for the conversion of this nation ; and in Nov. 1692 > 
the Council of the Indies transmitted a despatch, 
ordering the conquest of the Chols and the Lacandons 
to be undertaken simultaneously from the provinces 
of Vera Paz, Chiapa, and Gueguetenango. The good 
work was not, however, set about till the beginning 
of 1695, when three detachments of Spaniards and 
Indians, under the command of the president of the 
audiencia, with a proper staff of ecclesiastics, entered 
the mountains. One of these detachments under 
Mazariegos, having advanced with great difficulty 
through swamps and thickets and over broken ground* 



232 GUATIMALA. 

at length, on their sixth day's journey, discovered a 
village of the Lacandons, containing about 100 houses. 
It was quite deserted, but they determined to make a 
settlement here, and a wooden fort was hastily con- 
structed, while the fathers who accompanied the 
troops, took possession of what had served for a temple, 
and, having burned all the idols they could find, con- 
verted it into a chapel. The track to the village 
having been discovered on Good Friday, the place was 
named, Nuestra Senora de los Dolores, Soldiers were 
now sent out in all directions in search of the fugi- 
tives, and about a hundred, with their cacique, were 
induced to return to their village ; their houses were 
given up to them, and the soldiers were lodged in huts 
without the village. More Indians continued to arrive, 
until the number amounted to four hundred, most 
of whom were baptised. The rainy season being 
at hand, it was deemed expedient to return with 
the troops to the capital, leaving only a garrison in 
the fort, and some missionaries, to prosecute the work 
so favourably commenced. 

A second detachment, commanded by a Captain 
Velasco, which left Cahabon about the same time that 
the former set out from San Mateo Iztapan, had in 
the mean time succeeded in collecting upwards of 500 
Ghol Indians, among whom were some of the fugitives 
who had run away from the villages established by 
Gallegos in 1675. " The' domiciliated Chols soon 
gave information of the Mopans, a fierce and warlike 
tribe, spread over about thirty leagues of country, 
among whom neither Spaniards nor missionaries had 
ever yet ventured. The description given of this 
people, instead of discouraging the soldiers, excited 
their emulation, and they prepared to go in search of 
them. The commander having made the necessary 



GUATIMALA. 283 

dispositions, they departed, and, with much labour, 
cleared their way over precipices, rocks, and ravines, 
until they came in sight of the hovels of the people 
they were in search of. The number of families in this 
nation, it is confidently stated, amounted to between 
10 and 12,000, dwelling in a country of exquisite 
beauty and great fertility, in a climate the most 
agreeable of any that had yet been discovered. On 
the first sight of the Spaniards, the natives were 
alarmed, and gave unequivocal demonstrations of 
making a stout resistance ; but the judicious measures 
of the missionaries, and the prudence of the com- 
mander, so much disarmed their resentment, and 
calmed their apprehensions, that they soon opened a 
friendly intercourse : the result of which was, that the 
caciques were brought together, and persuaded to ex- 
change their present mode of life for a domestic one, 
and to accept the offer of being admitted to the benefits 
of Christianity. Intelligence of what had been 
effected, was sent to the governor at the village of 
Dolores, and also to the royal audieneia ; submitting 
to their consideration, that advantages would accrue 
from building a town in Mopan, to be inhabited by 
Spaniards, as the land was of the excellent quality 
already mentioned, and the situation eligible for 
facilitating the reduction of the whole to settled 
habits of life ; being in the centre of the unre- 
claimed nations, having Choi on the south, the Itza 
on the east and north, and the Lacandon on the west. 
The troops continued their march until they reached 
the extremity of Mopan, and pitched their camp about 
forty leagues from the lake of Itza, having traversed 
eighty -two leagues of very mountainous country. On 
quitting this situation, the detachment pursued a 
route to the river Chaxal, ten leagues distant from 

PART TV. s 



284 GUATIMALA. 

Itza. Velasco thought of passing the river, and 
attempting the conquest of Peten ; but the mission- 
aries represented to him, that, as the numbers of the 
Itzaes were reported to be very great, their present 
force was inadequate to undertake so important an 
enterprise, more particularly as the soldiers began to 
be unhealthy, provisions to grow scarce, and the wet 
season was fast approaching. The commander acknow- 
ledged the force of these arguments, and determined 
to retreat ; but, before leaving the territory of Mopan, 
a fort was constructed, and garrisoned by thirty sol- 
diers, with some Indians, under the command of Pedro 
Ramirez de Orosco." 

In 1696, another expedition was sent out under the 
direction of Bartolome de Amezquita, oidor of the 
audiencia, accompanied by this same Velasco. They 
safely reached Mopan. Velasco then requested and 
obtained permission to push on with part of the troops 
at a quicker rate, but he was strictly enjoined not to 
penetrate more than six leagues beyond the river Chaxal. 
This command was not obeyed with the punctuality 
that became a soldier ; he advanced as far as the lake 
Itza, where he was attacked by the Indians, and him- 
self and all his men, about a hundred in number, 
were killed. Amezquita followed, and not meeting 
with Velasco, halted on the banks of the Chaxal, 
where he was proceeding to construct a fort, when, in 
consequence of a change of administration, and the 
new orders to which it led, the expedition was re- 
called, Mopan was abandoned, and all further attempts 
at conversion were suspended. The Itzaes were sub- 
sequently reduced by forces sent from Yucatan; but 
the Alcalas, the Mopans, the Chols, and the Lacan- 
dons remain, Juarros says, for the most part unsub- 
dued to the present day. The province of Vera Paz 



GUATIMALA. 285 

is, indeed, throughout inhabited almost entirely by 
Indians, there being neither Spaniards nor Ladinos, 
except a very few in one or two villages for the pur- 
pose of maintaining the sovereignty of the Spaniards 
over the territory. 

San Domingo Coban, the residence of the alcalde- 
mayor, and formerly of the bishop of Vera Paz, is 
imposingly styled the imperial city of San Domingo. 
In point of population, it is a place of some impor- 
tance, containing upwards of 12,000 inhabitants, but 
apparently in no other respect. It stands in lat. 
15° 15' N., long. 91° 16' W., and is fifty leagues from 
Gruatimala. The names of the other most populous 
villages are, San Pablo, Rabinal, San Matteo, 
Salama, and Santa Maria Cahabon. In the village 
of San Augustin Lanquin, there is a cavern wherein 
are very beautiful stalactites. The total population 
is about 80,000 souls. 

The province of Vera Paz is partly mountainous 
and rugged, but contains extensive tracts of marshy 
land, subject to inundation from the innumerable 
rivers which intersect it. Some of these afford great 
facilities for inland navigation. By the river Polochic, 
produce imported from Europe might be transported 
to the. capital. This river rises in the mountain 
g£ Xucaneb ; after passing the village of San Pablo 
Tamajun, it takes a north-easterly direction, and at 
about four leagues from Tamajun, flows by another 
village, called San Miguel Tucuru. In its way to 
the Amatique gulf, it is joined by the Cahabon river* 
From the bar to this confluence, the river is ascended 
by large launches, vessels not being able to pass 
the bar at the mouth of the lagoon : beyond that 
point, large flat-bottomed canoes are employed. About 
eight leagues below Tucuru, there was formerly a 



286 GUATIMALA. 

village called Santa Catarina, and, further down, 
another named San Andres, both of which were 
burnt, and the settlements destroyed, Juarros states, 
by the English. In former times, he says, the mer- 
chandise imported from Spain to Guatimala, and that 
which this country exported to Europe, were con- 
veyed by this river; and even so lately as 1793, the 
organ sent from Europe for the church of San 
Domingo, was transported by this route to the capital. 
The advantages of the navigation are stated to be, 
first, that the Polochic has always sufficient water, 
even for vessels, if they could pass the bar ; secondly, 
that the route from Las Bodegas (in Honduras) to 
the capital, is much shorter than that by Zacapa ; * 
thirdly, that the former route is more healthy than 
the latter, and free from the excessive heats which 
prove so frequently fatal ; and fourthly, that the 
lands of Vera Paz being fertile in the extreme, there is 
an abundant supply of provisions. 

Another river of importance for inland traffic, is the 
Rio de la Passion, which rises in the mountains of 
Chama. Where it passes to the north of Coban, in 
front of the mountains of Chicec, it is twenty-five 
toises in breadth, and not less than ten in depth. In 
the rainy season, it swells to half a league in breadth, 
and its depth is proportionably augmented. From 
Vera Paz, it flows in a north-westerly direction, 
passes through the district of Peten, enters that of 
Tabasco, and, uniting with the large river Utsuma- 



* From Guatimala to Ave Maria, the place of embarkation, 
about eleven leagues above Tucuru, the distance is fifty-five 
leagues, which may be travelled with ease in six days ; from Ave 
Maria to the mouth of the Lagoon, two days ; thence to the Cas- 
tillo, at most two days more ; so that the whole distance may 
be performed in ten days. 



&UATIMALA. '287 

zinta, discharges itself into the Bay of Campeche, 
where it forms the bar of St. Peter and St. Paul.* A 
very profitable commerce, Jnarros says, might be 
opened by means of this river, with Peten, Tabasco, 
Campeche, and even Vera Cruz. 

The large lake Itza, or Peten, lies between Vera 
Paz, Chiapa, and Yucatan. It is of an oblong figure, 
and about twenty-six leagues in circumference. In 
some parts there are thirty fathoms of depth ; in 
others, still more. The waters are good, and produce 
excellent fish. The Peten, or Great Island, is about 
two leagues from the shore. It was the chief place of 
the Itza Indians. It is steep and lofty, and on the 
summit is a plain nearly a quarter of a league in 
diameter. Four smaller islands lie at short distances 
from the principal one, all of which, together with 
the whole eastern side of the lake and the neighbour- 
ing range of mountains, were formerly peopled by dif- 
ferent Indian nations. In the five islands alone, 
according to the computation of the missionaries, 
there were, prior to the conquest, from 24 to 25,000 
inhabitants, while the Indians who inhabited the bor- 
ders of the lake and the mountains, were almost innu- 
merable. The gods were numerous in proportion. 
When Peten was taken by Martin de Ursua in 1697, 
" so great was the number of idols found in twenty- 
one places of worship that were in the island, as well 
as in the private houses, that the general, officers, and 
soldiers were unremittingly employed from nine 



* In this account, our only guide is Juarros, and the map pre- 
fixed to the Translation by no means aids us to verify or throw 
light on the text. The Utsumazinta is apparently the same river 
that he elsewhere writes Zumacinta and Sumasinta. The river 
San Pedro y Pablo enters Tabasco from Chiapa. Neither the Rio de 
la Passion, nor the Polochic, is noticed by name in the map. 
s 2 



2£8 GUATIMALA. 

o'clock in the morning till five in the afternoon, 
in destroying them." * At the close of the last cen- 
tury, there remained but seven villages in the whole 
territory, with a population of only 2,555 individuals ! 
The principal place in the district is the fortress of 
Peten, called Nuestra Senora de los Remedios, which 
is the residence of the warden (castellano) of Peten, 
and the ecclesiastical vicar appointed by the bishop of 
Merida. The climate, Juarros says, is temperate and 
salubrious ; the country abounds with game ; the soil 
yields two harvests of maize in the year ; it produces 
also Chiapa pepper, Brazil wood, balsam, vanilla, 
cotton, cocoa, pine-apples and other fruits, indigo, 
achiote, and cochineal. 

At the distance of ten leagues from the lake, the 
ridge of the Alabaster mountains begins, on which is 
found green, brown, and red jasper. These moun- 
tains afford shelter to great numbers of wild beasts. 
Among the animals peculiar to this province, Juarros 
mentions the zachin, a quadruped resembling a rat, 
about a span long, with a tail of six inches. Though 
so diminutive, it preys upon snakes, rats, birds, 
poultry, overtakes the mountain cat and deer, and 
even attacks the lord of the creation with great bold- 
ness ; it emits so fetid a smell, that dogs will not 
encounter it unless they are much enraged, and its 
bite is venomous. Among the numerous varieties 
of the feathered race which enliven the forests of this 
province, the quetzal holds the first rank for its 
plumage, which is of an exquisite emerald green : the 
tail feathers, which are very long, are favourite orna- 

* Among these idols were some bones, which were ascertained to 
be part of the skeleton of a horse left here by Cortes, on his way to 
Honduras, on account of its being diseased : the said bones were 
held by the Indians in high veneration. 



GUATIMALA. 289 

ments with the natives, and were formerly sent, as 
a valuable present, to the sultans of Tenochtitlan. 
Great care was taken not to kill the birds, and they 
were released after being despoiled of these feathers. 
" The birds themselves," says Juarros, " as if they 
knew the high estimation their feathers are held 
in, build their nests with two openings, that, by enter- 
ing at one, and quitting them by the other, their 
plumes may not be deranged." This most beautiful 
bird, which is peculiar to this kingdom, is found also 
in Quezaltenango. Three other birds found in this 
province are described by Juarros. u The chion is a 
small bird, about the size of a canary, and of various 
colours : some are of a fine shining black ; others 
have the head and upper part black, the breast and 
inferior parts white, and the wings spotted ; there are 
some yellow, like canaries, which they also resemble 
in song. This little creature cannot be domesticated, 
for they never survive two days of captivity. The chul- 
pilchoc is a native bird of the cold and humid mountains 
of Verapaz ; the plumage is black, except on the 
breast, which is scarlet ; it is about the size of a 
canary, but has no song, at least only a sort of short 
whistle. The racoon is one of the most beautiful birds 
known ; it is an inhabitant only of the mild climate of 
Verapaz, for great heat and excessive cold are alike 
destructive to it. Nature has denied it song, but, 
by fluttering its wings, it makes a noise like that of a 
hawk's bell ; it is, therefore, only estimable for the 
plumage. Its height is about nine inches, the bill 
short, and eyes black ; the feet are provided with 
three toes before and one behind ; the feathers below 
the bill, and on all the front part, are purple ; a ring 
round the neck, and the upper part of the body are of 
a lustrous emerald green, exquisitely beautiful ; the 



290 GUATIMALA. 

wings and tail are black. The female is larger than 
the male, but differs from him so much, as to seem 
a creature of a distinct species ; the feathers are gray, 
with streaks of white, but in the sun's rays they have 
a tinge of green." 

Excellent timber of various kinds,— -the guayacan, 
the drag 0, which yields the gum called dragon's blood, 
the liquidambar, mastic-tree, and other balsamic and 
aromatic trees, abound in the forests. 

To the south-east of the province of Vera Paz, lies 
the corregi dor ship of Chiquimula, bounded by Hon- 
duras on the east ; Escuintla, Sacatepec, and Zon- 
zonate on the south ; and the Atlantic on the north. 
It is divided into two districts, which were formerly 
separate corregimientos : the one, called Acasaguast- 
lan, or Zacapa, comprises the western part, and con- 
tains only eight villages ; that of Chiquimula, the 
eastern division, includes twenty-two villages. The 
total population is about the same as that of Vera 
Paz, being rather above 80,000. The vernacular 
language is the Chorti. The climate is almost every 
where extremely hot. The productions of the soil 
are, maize, rice, cocoa, melons, water-melons, cotton, 
and above all, the sugar-cane ; there are also said 
to be mines of gold, silver, talc, and other minerals. 
There are excellent pasture-lands, in which are bred 
cattle, hogs, horses, and mules. 

The chief places in the western division are, San 
Augustin de la Real Corona, or Acasaguastlan ; and 
San Pedro Zacapa. At the latter place, there are a 
few Spanish families, many of mulattoes, but more of 
Indians. In this district is the large fresh-water 
lake, called the Golfo Dulce; it is six leagues across in 
almost every direction, and communicates with the 



GUATIMALA. 291 

ocean by a channel called the Gulf River, the mouth 
of which is about fourteen leagues from the lake, in 
the centre of the Bay of Honduras.* Numerous 
rivers fall into this lake, rendering it navigable by 
large vessels. For more than a century, this was the 
only port where the ships of Spain trading with this 
kingdom, discharged their freights. On its shore is a 
fort called the castle of San Felipe, built in 1655. In 
the event of our establishing a commercial intercourse 
direct with Guatimala, the river Dulce will become of 
considerable importance. 

Chiquimula de la Sierra, the chief place in the 
eastern district, is the residence of the corregidor, and 
contains upwards of 3,000 inhabitants, of whom about 
300 are Spaniards. It is in lat. 14° 20' N., and long. 
90° 16 A W. ; distance from Guatimala, fifty leagues. 
But the best-built town in the district, though situ- 
ated in a humid and unhealthy climate, is said to be 
San Jago Esquipulas. It stands in a plain sur- 
rounded by hills, and is famous on two accounts; 
first, as having one of the most capacious and hand- 
somest churches in the kingdom ; it has three aisles, 
and is surmounted by four lofty towers, but what 
forms its chief glory is, a large crucifix, carved by 
a native of Guatimala, which is adored throughout 
the country for the miracles it has wrought : the other 
remarkable thing is, an inn, — the only one, possibly, 
that Guatimala can yet boast of. 

The province of Chiquimula was conquered by the 
officers of Alvarado. In the year 1530, the Indians 
revolted, but were again subdued by Hernando de 
Chaves. Part of this province and of Vera Paz, was 

* According to Juarros, it is 120 leagues from Cape Catoche, 
and 68 leagues from the Point of Castile, and is in lat. 15° 25' N^ ; 
long. 80° 16' W. 



292 GUATIMALA. 

formerly comprehended in the alcaldia -mayor of 
Amatique, which comprised a district thirty-five 
leagues in length by thirty in breadth, southward of 
the river Dulce. It contained one town and three 
villages ; but the town, called New Seville, situated 
on the southern bank of the river Polochic, was 
dismantled in pursuance of a royal decree, in 1549, in 
consequence of representations made by the monks of 
Vera Paz. The three villages, Amatique, situated 
near the Gulf of Guanaxos, Jocolo, which stood where 
the castle of San Felipe has since been erected, and 
San Tomas, were abandoned in consequence of the 
pestilential epidemics by which they were repeatedly 
desolated ; and the alcaldia was abolished. 

Among the remarkable objects in this province, 
Juarros mentions the lake of Atescatempa, near a 
village of the same name, in the curacy of Jutiapa, 
which receives two large rivers, the Contipec and the 
Yupitepec, and, like the lake of Atitlan, has no 
apparent outlet for its waters ; but, at a short distance 
from its borders, at a place called La Doncella, a large 
volume of water issues from the earth, and forms 
a broad and deep river. " As the discharge is always 
regular, this opening," Juarros reasonably infers, " can 
be no other than the channel by which the waters of 
the lake are drawn off." A still more extraordinary 
natural curiosity is, the cave of Penol, which, accord- 
ing to the tradition of the country, extends through 
the mountains, from Peiiol, towards the village of 
Mataquescuinte, as far as the Rio de los Esclavos, 
a distance of about eleven leagues. We know not on 
what grounds this tradition rests. The subterranean 
passage does not appear to have been penetrated 
beyond the distance of three quarters of a league. At 
this distance, the only individual who is known to 



GUATIMALA. 293 

have attempted it, found his lights always extin- 
guished by the mephitic 'vapour. Gigantic skeletons 
are said to have been found in the neighbourhood 
of this cave, some of the leg bones of which measured 
five feet six inches ! I Among the rivers of this 
region, the next in importance to the river Dulce, is 
the Bio Grande , which rises in the province of Chi- 
maltenango, and afterwards takes the name of Mo- 
tagua : it is noted for a delicate species of fish, from 
two to three feet long, called the bobo, which is 
caught only in this river and in that which flows by 
the city of Comayagua. It falls into the Atlantic 
eight leagues to the eastward of the Gulf river, form- 
ing the boundary between Chiquimula and the inten- 
dancy of Comayagua, or Honduras. 

The Bay of Honduras, along the coast of which the 
latter province extends, was so named by the Spaniards, 
because, when they first came to subjugate the coun- 
try, they were unable to find anchorage, owing to the 
great depth (hondura) of water. They called the 
country Hibueras, or Calabazas, from the great num- 
ber of pumpions they found on shore, and Guaimura, 
from a native village on the coast. The name of the 
bay is now generally given to the province, although 
it is officially named, as an intendancy, from Comay- 
agua, the chief city. This province was the first part 
of the New Continent on which the Spaniards landed. 
Herrera says, that Columbus arrived off the coast of 
Honduras in the year 1502, and landed at Point 
Casinas on the 17th of August. Formal possession 
was taken of the country in the name of the King of 
Castile ; Columbus, however, did not advance into 
the interior, but continued his progress along the 
coast till he reached Veraguas, and the province of 



294 GUAT1MALA. 

Honduras was not explored till twenty years after, 
when Gil Gonsalez Davila, taking shelter in the Gulf 
Dulce, built a little village near Cape Three Points, 
to which he gave the name of San Gil de Buena 
Vista. This site was subsequently abandoned as un- 
healthy, a character which attaches, unfortunately, to 
the whole province. We need not pursue the history 
of its settlement, which is in nowise interesting. 
The soil is for the most part extremely fertile, pro- 
ducing maize, pulse, cocoa, sugar, and cotton ; it 
abounds also in cattle ; but the climate is hot an^ 
humid, and, consequently, extremely insalubrious, on 
which account many of the towns of which it could 
boast at one time, have been successively abandoned. 
The population which, in 1778? was 87,730, and in 
1791, 93,500, is still under 127,000. Yet it con- 
tains, Juarros says, more gold and silver mines 
than all the rest of the kingdom besides.* It is 
divided into two districts : Comayagua, formerly a 
government, which comprehends the western part ; 
and Tegucigalpa, at one time an alcaldia-mayor, which 
extends over the eastern part. 

The district of Comayagua contains ninety-four 
villages and settlements. The chief places are Truoc- 
«7/o, Gracias a Dios, and Comayagua. Truxillo, situ- 
ated close to the port of that name, was formerly the 
capital of the province, and the residence of the bishop. 
It stands about thirty yards above the level of the sea, 
between the rivers Negro and Christales ; distance 
from Comayagua 95 leagues, and 239 from Guatimala; 
in lat. 15° 20' N. ; long. 86° 6' W. The harbour is 

* The valley of Olancho, in particular, is celebrated for the 
«« immense riches that have been collected from the river Guayape 
that flows through it ; and even now," adds Juarros, " the purest 
gold in the kingdom is found in its aands." 



GUATIMALA. 295 

commodious and well -fortified. The Dutch landed 
here in 1643, and pillaged and destroyed the town ; 
from which time it remained in a ruined state till 
1789, when the Government directed it to he again 
put in a state of defence. It was attacked, in 1797, hy 
two English ships of war and a brig, but they 
were repulsed. The population, however, is now very 
inconsiderable. Gracias a Dios is in a state of great 
decay ; yet, it was formerly one of the most flourish- 
ing places in the kingdom, and important as being for 
some time the seat of the royal audiencia. It is 
situated in a pleasant valley, at the base of a lofty 
mountain, from the summit of which descends a 
rivulet that flows close by, and supplies it with water. 
It is thirty-eight leagues from Comayagua and 166 
from Guatimala; lat. 14° N. ; long. 89° 16' W. 
This city was founded by Juan de Chaves in 1536. 
He had spent a long time in searching for a convenient 
situation for a town about mid-way between Honduras 
and Guatimala, that should facilitate the commerce 
with the capital, when, at length, on arriving at 
the level tract in which the town was afterwards 
built, the soldiers exclaimed, Gracias a Dios^ — ' Thank 
God, we have found a proper place !' and from this 
circumstance it received its name.* The town was 
indebted for the rapid increase of its prosperity, to the 

* A similar circumstance gave rise to the name of Cape Gracias 
a Dios. «* Columbus having arrived at Point Casinas in August 
1502, kept a westerly course, contending with great difficulty 
against the wind and a strong current, until he weathered a head- 
land stretching far into the sea, and from which the land trends 
away to the southward ; he then kept his intended course' with 
ease. The sailors thanked God for having doubled the cape, and 
it then received its appellation." There are many similar instances 
of places owing their names to an exclamation, as Olinda, Maran- 
ham, and Buenos Ayres.— See Mod. Trav. Brazil, -vol. if. p. 306. 
PART IV. T 



296 GUATIMALA, 

discovery of some gold mines in its vicinity, in 1544. 
The richest of these was that of San Andres de Nueva 
Zaragoza, situated in a mountain of the valley of 
Sensenti, to the west of the city, and east of the valley 
of Copan. Fuentes asserts that, with no other instru- 
ment than a wooden stake, poor people went to this 
mountain, and, by merely scratching up the sand, 
found grains of the precious metal. He says, also, 
that in a mine belonging to Bartolome Marin de 
Sanabria, more than a pound of gold a day was col- 
lected by the labour of himself and one slave. " The 
strongest proof that can be adduced of the riches of 
this mountain,' ' remarks Juarros, " was the appoint- 
ment of an alcalde -mayor, for the purpose of superin- 
tending the working of the mines and receiving 
the king's fifths. This officer was invested with 
plenary jurisdiction, both in civil and criminal 
matters, within the boundaries of the mines, and had 
the power of compelling a fourth part of the Indians 
within a circuit of twelve leagues, to labour in them. 
These sources of wealth, that were so famous for more 
than a hundred years, are now entirely exhausted, 
and the alcaldia is extinguished. Santa Maria de 
Comayagua was founded in 1540, with a view to 
maintain an easier communication between the two 
oceans, its situation being about half-way between 
Puerto Caballos and the Bay of Fonseca. In 1544, a 
royal order directed, that the new audiencia of the 
confines of Guatimala and Nicaragua should reside in 
Comayagua, which was^thenceforth to be called New 
Valladolid ; but this decree was not carried into effect. 
In 1557, it was created a city ; and in 1561, the see 
of Truxillo Avas transferred to it, at the solicitation of 
the bishop. It is now the residence of the intendant. 
It is situated in a beautiful plain contiguous to a large 



GUATIMALA. 297 

river (the Ulua), which abounds with excellent fish ; 
lat. 13° 50' N., and long. 88° 46' W. : the distance 
from Guatimala is 144 leagues. San Pedro Zala, 
founded by Alvarado in 1536, San Jorge OlancMto, 
founded by Diego de Alvarado in 1530, and Sona- 
guera, were formerly called cities, and had corpora- 
tions, but are now entirely decayed. Of San Gil de 
Buena Vista, and El Triunfo de la Cruz, founded in 
1523, as well as of the town of San Juan, near Puerto 
Caballos, settled in 1536, nothing remains but the 
name. Yoro is still a considerable town. The vil- 
lage of Tencoa is celebrated for a peculiar species 
of pepper cultivated in its vicinity ; the valley of 
Morolica for its cheese ; and that of Copan for its 
tobacco. 

The district of Tegucigalpa contains two towns ; 
the one from which it takes its name, and Xeres de la 
F router a. The former is the most populous and 
flourishing place in the whole province, and is the 
residence of a deputy-intendant. It stands in a 
healthy chmate, 25 leagues from Comayagua, and 148 
from Guatimala. It contains a spacious church, two 
oratories, and two convents, Franciscan and Mer- 
cedarian. Xeres is situated in the valley of Cholu- 
teca, the most southerly and the hottest place of 
all the district, in lat. 12° 50' N., and long. 87° 46' W. 
^Within its jurisdiction is El Corpus, which has pro- 
duced more gold than any other place in the kingdom. 
This canton is in fact esteemed the richest in the pre- 
cious metals of any in Guatimala. 

On the coast of this province there are six different 
ports. The first is Omoa, a bay with good anchorage, 
forming a clean, safe, and well-sheltered harbour, 
sufficiently capacious to moor twenty or five and 
twenty vessels. It is 17 leagues east of the Fresh 



298 GUATIMALA. 

Gulf, in lat. 15° 23' N. and long. 88° 56' W. Fort 
San Fernando Omoa was built in 1775, to protect the 
harbour. In 1780, however, the place was taken by 
the English, but they soon abandoned it on account of 
the unheal thiness of the climate. At a short distanca 
from the fort is a village inhabited by negroes, who 
are the only persons able to endure the climate. 
Three leagues further eastward is Puerto Caballos, 
formed by two bays : as its entrance has little more 
than two feet water, it is not much frequented. 
Puerto de Sal, 37 leagues from the gulf, is very small, 
and without good anchorage. Trionfo de la Cruz is 
a large bay trending to the south-east, where vessels 
of any size may anchor under shelter of three small 
islands, called the Friars. The fifth port is that of 
Truxillo, 68 leagues from the Fresh Gulf, formed by 
Point Castilla on the N.E., and Point Quemara on 
the S.W., which are six leagues distant from each 
other : in the middle of the bay lies the Isla Blanca. 
The last is Puerto Cartago, 132 leagues from the Gulf 
River, in the territories of the uncivilised Indians. 
The principal rivers that fall into the Atlantic, are 
the Camalecon, navigable by piraguas, or large 
canoes, for more than fifty leagues, which falls into 
the sea twenty-four leagues below the Gulf River ; the 
Ulua, 31 leagues from the same point ; the Lean, or 
Leones, 46 leagues from the Gulf; the Aguan, 84 
leagues E. of the Gulf River, and about 60 miles W. 
of Cape Camaron, — it is navigable by canoes about 
40 leagues from its mouth. This is the boundary of 
Honduras and the territory of Taguzgalpa. Six 
leagues further is the Limones, which descends from 
the mountains of Olancho el Viejo. Twelve leagues 
further is the bar of the Rio Tinto, or Black River. 
Half a league to the eastward is the Payas, and 



GUATIMALA. 299 

the last is tlie Platanos^ which falls into the Atlantic 
about 106 leagues from the Gulf River.* The Na- 
caome and the Choluteca fall into the Bay of Con- 
chagua on the south-western coast. 

Eighteen leagues N.E. of Port Truxillo, the Island 
of Roatan lies off the coast, extending from forty -five 
to fifty miles in length, by from six to ten in breadth. 
The approach to it is dangerous, owing to the reefs 
and rocks by which it is surrounded ; but the prin- 
cipal harbour affords good anchorage, though rather 
open to S.W. winds. In the year 1642, this island 
was taken by the English, but was abandoned eight 
years after. From that time to 1742, it remained 
uninhabited ; the English then again occupied and 
fortified it, but were dislodged about 1780. They 
resumed possession of it in 1796 ; but, in the following 
year, the Spaniards once more recovered it. 

The only object of interest known to exist in this 
large province, is the Great Circus of Copan, in the 
valley of that name, which, at the time that Fuentes 
wrote (about A.D. 1700), existed entire. It is 
described as " a circular space, surrounded by stone 
pyramids about six yards high, at the bases of which 
are figures, both male and female, habited in the Cas- 
tilian costume^ of very excellent sculpture, and 
coloured." In the middle of the area, a flight of steps 
led to the place of sacrifice. At a short distance is 
a stone gateway, on the pillars of which are sculptured 
figures, likewise in Spanish habits ; and on entering 

* We give these details on the authority of Juarros, as points to 
be verified, rather than as actually ascertained. In the map pre- 
fixed to the English translation, neither the Limones, the Rio 
Tinto, the Payas, nor the Platanos, appears under those names : 
the only three rivers eastward of the Aguan, and westward of Cape 
Gracias a Dios, are named the Yangue, or Guayape, the Bayano, 
and the Barbo. 



300 GUATEMALA. 

this gateway, two fine stone pyramids present them- 
selves, " from which is suspended a hammock con- 
taining two human figures, clothed in the Indian 
style. Astonishment is forcibly excited on viewing 
this structure, because, large as it is, there is no 
appearance of the component parts being joined 
together ; and, although entirely of stone, and of an 
enormous weight, it may be put in motion by the 
slightest impulse of the hand. Not far from this ham- 
mock is the cave of Tibulca, which appears like a 
large temple hollowed out of the base of a hill, and 
adorned with columns having bases, pedestals, and 
capitals : at the sides are numerous windows faced 
with stone, exquisitely wrought." All this reads 
assuredly very much like romance, but, as it is 
part of our object, while recording the discoveries 
of former travellers, to point out what it remains 
for future travellers to investigate, we should have 
been guilty of a great omission had we failed to direct 
their attention to this valley of wonders, where the 
genii who attended on King Solomon have evidently 
been the artists.* 

We now proceed to the description of a province 
which seems likely to become, in some respects, 
the most important in the kingdom, as affording 

* The valley of Copan is situated on the boundary line between 
the provinces of Chiquimula and Comayagua. The Indian city 
of Copan was one of the largest and most populous in the 
kingdom. When the Spaniards arrived before it, it was so well 
prepared for defence, as to be able to hold out against a large and 
powerful army. On one side it was defended by the mountains of 
Chiquimula and Gracias a Dios ; on the opposite side, by a deep 
fosse and an intrenchment, formed of strong beams of timber, 
having the interstices filled with earth, in which were made em- 
brasures and loop-holes, through which the besieged discharged 
their arrows under cover from the enemy's fire. It was taken 
with difficulty by De Chaves. Its site is now entirely deserted. 



■GUATIMALA. 301 

the long-sought-for communication between the two 
oceans, — 

THE INTENDANCY OF NICARAGUA. 

This was the first province subdued by the Spa- 
niards, having been discovered and partially settled 
by Gil Gonzales Davila and his companions in 1522. 
It takes its name from a powerful cacique (or perhaps 
from his territory), who was one of the first to enter 
into amicable relations with the Spaniards, and sub- 
mit to baptism. It is bounded, on the north and 
north-east, by Honduras and Tologalpa ; on the 
north-west, by Tegucigalpa ; on the south-west and 
south, by the Pacific and Costa Rica ; on the east, by 
the territory ceded to Colombia, which skirts the 
shores of the Atlantic. The intendancy includes five 
districts ; that of Leon, formerly a distinct government, 
and the ancient corregidorships of Realejo, Subtiava, 
Matagalpa, and Nicoya. The latter are all very much 
reduced in importance : Realejo, Subtiava, and Ni- 
coya, more especially, which lie along the shores of 
the Pacific, are, from the insalubrity of the climate, 
which is both hot and humid, almost depopulated. 
The first of these districts contains but three villages 
besides the town from which it takes its name, and 
(in 1778) a little more than 6,000 inhabitants: the 
last has only one settlement, and a scattered popula- 
tion scarcely amounting to half that number. The 
total population of the intendancy was, in 1778, 
107,000 : in 1823, it is computed to have reached 
164,400. As the temperature of the whole province 
is very hot, it does not produce wheat, but yields ex- 
cellent grapes and other fruits, cocoa, indigo, cotton, 
the gum called caranq, and various medicinal drugs. 



302 GUATIMALA. 

Immense herds of cattle are pastured in the large 
grazing-farms, for the consumption not merely of the 
province, but of the city of Guatimala also : the soil, 
however, is not favourable for breeding sheep. 

But the most remarkable feature of this province 
is, its numerous rivers and immense lakes. The Lake 
of Nicaragua is the largest in the kingdom, and 
one of the most extensive in the world, being more 
than 150 leagues long from east to west, and nearly 
60 miles from north to south ; it has almost 
every where a depth of 10 fathoms, with a muddy 
bottom, except along the shore, where there is 
clear sand. A great number of rivers fall into this 
vast basin, but the River San Juan is, according to 
Juarros, the only visible outlet ; notwithstanding 
which, he says, there is no observable indication at 
any time of any increase or decrease of its waters. 
On the north-west, it communicates with the Lake of 
Leon or Managua, which extends upwards of 50 miles 
in length by nearly 30 in breadth, by a navigable 
channel called the Rio Tipitapa, about 20 miles in 
length. This lake also is said to be throughout of 
sufficient depth to receive the largest ships. At twelve 
miles distance only from its northern extremity, runs 
the river Tosta, which, after a course of twenty miles, 
falls into the Pacific Ocean. To form, therefore, a 
communication between the two oceans, the only part 
actually to be opened, would be the twelve miles be- 
tween the River Tosta and the Lake of Leon. 

Humboldt says, there are in the archives of Madrid, 
several memoirs, both French and English, on the 
possibility of the junction of the Lake of Nicaragua 
with the Pacific ; but in none which he had seen, was 
the height of the intervening ground sufficiently 
cleared up. Upon more recent information, however, 



GUATIMALA. 303 

it has been ascertained that the difference of level in 
the highest part, is not more than fifty-one feet 
above the surface of the Lake of Leon, which is about 
three feet higher than that of the River Tosta. Not 
more than two locks, therefore, would be required to 
render this a perfectly practicable and secure commu- 
nication. 

This great achievement appears likely to be at 
length realised by the enterprise of British capitalists. 
Under the auspices of the local Government, an asso- 
ciation has already been formed for the purpose of 
cutting a ship-canal in this direction, and a bill in 
relation to the subject is now in its progress through 
parliament. From the prospectus issued by the com- 
mittee, we obtain the following additional details. 

" That the line now spoken of was known to the 
Spanish Government, is put beyond doubt ; but, as she 
would not, or could not, avail herself of this know- 
ledge, she with cautious jealousy concealed it from 
other nations. It appears from documents discovered 
in the hydrographical cabinet of the Spanish minister 
of marine, that the most accurate surveys were made 
of the whole of central America, and were sent, 
accompanied with proper drawings, to Madrid. One 
of these, containing an exact description of the spot 
most favourable for opening the proposed channel, was 
obtained some time ago under particular circumstances, 
by a gentleman who resided at the court of Madrid, 
and it is now in possession of the company. From 
this it appears, that, in the Province of Nicaragua, in 
10° 10' N. lat., and 82° 15' W. long., the River San 
Juan falls into the Atlantic Ocean, after running a 
south-east course of 120 miles from the lake Nica- 
ragua, in which it has its source. This river, in the 
rainy season, is navigable from the sea to the lake for 
T 2 



304 GUATIMALA. 

ships of from 200 to 300 tons burthen ; but it may be 
rendered navigable for the largest vessels, and suffi- 
cient depth of water be preserved for them the whole of 
the way up. The passage is at present partially ob- 
structed by certain ships sunk by the Spaniards, to 
prevent the intrusion of foreign vessels." 

Then, after describing the above-mentioned plan of 
communication by means of the River Tosta, the 
document proceeds : " Another line of communication 
with the Pacific, presents itself also from the Lake of 
Leon. On the southern shores of that lake, is situated 
the town of Tipitapa. From this town, a canal might 
be, cut into another river, San Juan, which runs into 
the Pacific by the port of that name, in the Gulf of 
Papagayo. The distance between the lake and where 
the cut would enter the River San Juan, is about 
twelve miles, and the whole distance to the Pacific is 
not more than thirty. Of this distance, eighteen 
miles of the river are already navigable for large 
vessels. 

" To point out all the advantages of such a junction 
of the two great oceans, would be impossible in the 
limits of a prospectus. They would be as various as 
the many branches of profitable trade which would be 
so greatly facilitated, or to which they would give 
rise. The intercourse of Europe and America with 
the States on the shores of the Pacific, would be en- 
larged to an incalculable extent ; the South Sea 
Trade, the Whale Fisheries of England and America, 
the facilities for working the mines in the central Pro- 
vinces, in Chili, and Peru, would be increased in an 
extraordinary degree ; the India Trade would likewise 
be materially increased, and the voyage to China and 
the Philippine Islands shortened by some thousands of 
miles. The whole of these trades would 



GUATIMALA. 305 

BE CARRIED ON THROUGH THE NEW CHANNEL; 

The advantages which would accrue to England, in 
a political point of view, cannot be overlooked : they 
would be of a most important nature, but it is unne- 
cessary to mention them in detail. 

" It may, perhaps, be objected, that some accounts 
of the River San Juan have represented it as not navi- 
gable for ships of any great size. It is admitted, that 
some maps and charts of South America have so 
described it; but nothing is more clearly demon- 
strated than the fallacy of such representations. It 
is a well-known fact that the Spaniards prohibited 
the navigation of the San Juan, under pain of death, 
sunk vessels in different parts of the river, and also 
raised a fort for its prevention. It is also well known, 
that Spain has often wilfully misdescribed the nature 
of some of her South American colonies, to prevent the 
intrusion of other nations ; and only since the establish^ 
ment of the independence of those countries, could 
foreigners land on their shores. An instance of this 
kind was experienced not very long ago by Lord Coch- 
rane. While at the mouth of the river Guayaquil with 
part of his fleet, he was boarded by a pilot, who assured 
him that the river was not navigable for large vessels. 
His lordship, on referring to his maps and charts of 
this part of the coast, found this river described as full 
of difficulties and dangers, and absolutely unnavigable 
for large ships. It was similarly represented by more 
than one English, as well as Spanish geographer. 
His lordship inquired what water there was in the 
river, and was informed that the depth was four 
fathoms. He instantly ordered the pilot to conduct 
him up, on pain of immediate death. The terrified 
pilot obeyed, and in a short time his lordship cast 
anchor abreast of the town of Guayaquil, with his 



306 GUATIMALA. 

squadron, to the astonishment of the inhabitants, who 
saw, for the first time, the guns of a fifty-gun frigate 
bearing upon their city. The question is, however, 
now set at rest for ever; the information derived 
from the survey spoken of, leaving no more doubt 
that the San Juan may be easily rendered navigable, 
(and for ships of all burdens,) than there exists of the 
navigation of the Thames. 

" The gentleman by whose skill and address a copy 
of the survey was obtained, is one on whom the Com- 
pany can place the most implicit reliance. They have 
availed themselves of his great abilities, and he is now 
on his way to central America, to take the preliminary 
steps for carrying this important undertaking into 
effect. From the estimates which have been made, it 
is calculated, that the profits accruing to the company 
from the tolls of ships passing and repassing, will be 
sufficient, after defraying all expenses, to replace, in 
the course of ten years, the original capital, besides 
giving in the interim a considerable dividend, 

" Independently of the many other advantages 
which she must derive from it, England will have 
the glory of achieving a work, which has been eagerly 
desired ever since America was discovered, and even 
more so since its value to Europe has been correctly 
ascertained. In effecting this, she will leave to 
posterity an additional monument of her great com- 
mercial enterprise, her industry, and perseverance." 

It would be altogether idle for us to offer any com- 
ment on this statement, as we cannot be expected to 
have access to more minute or recent information than 
the committee have been enabled to procure. Hum- 
boldt states, that the coast of Nicaragua is almost in- 
accessible in the months of August, September, and 
October, on account of the terrible storms and rains, 



GtTATIMALA. 307 

and, in January and February, on account of the 
furious north-east and east -north-east winds called 
papagayos. This circumstance, he remarks, is ex- 
ceedingly inconvenient for navigation. But the same 
inconvenience attaches, more or less, to the whole of 
the western coast of central America. The port of 
Tehuantepec gives its name to the hurricanes which 
blow from the north-west, and which deter vessels 
from landing at the small ports of Sabinas andVen- 
tosa. The Tehuantepec cut, moreover, if carried into 
execution, would not afford a passage to any but 
barges or canoes; and this would be the case also 
with the projected communication by means of the 
River Chagres, and a canal to be cut from the venta de 
Cruces to Panama. Merchandise could be transported 
across the isthmus of Darien only in flat-bottomed 
boats, unable to keep the sea, and there would require 
to be entrepots at Panama and Porto Bello. There is, 
apparently, no room for doubt, that the line of com- 
munication by the great lakes is by far the most 
feasible and advantageous. And, if completely realised, 
the distances to India and China would be shortened 
more than 10,000 miles !* 

The lake of Nicaragua is rendered extremely pic- 

* The vulgar notion of a difference between the level of the two 
oceans so material as to effect the practicability of the measure, is 
shewn by Humboldt to be without foundation. In America, the 
South Sea is generally supposed to be higher at the isthmus of 
Panama, than the Atlantic. Yet, remarks the learned Traveller, 
" when we consider the effect of the current of rotation," or gulf- 
stream, " which carries the waters from east to west, and accumu- 
lates them towards the coast of Costa Rica and Veragua, we are 
tempted to suppose, contrary to the received opinion, that the 
Atlantic is a little higher than the Pacific." By barometrical 
measurements, however, he ascertained, that if there be any dif- 
ference of level between the two seas, it cannot exceed twenty or 
twenty-two feet.— PoL Essay > vol. i. p. 31. 



308 GUATIMALA. 

turesque by the numerous small islands which stud 
its surface. These are all uncultivated and unin- 
habited, except that of Omotepetl, from which a lofty 
mountain shoots up its volcanic peak near the 
southern shore of the lake, frequently emitting both 
flames and smoke : this island is inhabited, as it is 
remarkable that the neighbourhood of a volcano never 
fails to be. The lake is subject to tempestuous agi- 
tations, from heavy gales. Lakes, rivers, and creeks, 
and both the Atlantic and Pacific coasts, furnish an 
inexhaustible supply of various kinds of fish. Exten- 
sive forests, affording valuable timber, and peopled 
with numerous tribes of monkeys, quadrupeds, and 
rare birds, skirt the shores of this little Mediterranean, 
and on its banks are found some of the most populous 
villages in the province. The principal place is the 
city of Granada, from which the lake takes the name 
more commonly applied to it in Guatimala, where it is 
called the lake of Granada. This city was founded in 
1523. It stands on the north- western shore, in an 
advantageous position for commerce; lat. 11°30'N., 
long. 86° 21' W. ; distance from Leon 30 leagues, 
and 216 from Guatimala. It contains a handsome 
church and four convents : the Franciscan is one of 
the most ancient in the kingdom. The population, 
in 1778, consisted of 863 Spaniards and Creoles, 910 
Mestizoes, 4,765 Ladinos, and, in an adjoining barrio 
or village, about 1,700 Indians. 

The place which carries on the largest trade, how- 
ever, in the whole intendancy, Juarros says, is 
Masaya, a large village containing a population of 
6,000 souls, among whom are a few Spaniards. Yet, 
the situation, one would have imagined, is one of the 
last that would have been voluntarily selected. In 
the first place, the scarcity of water is severely felt, 



GUAT1MALA. 309 

and the inhabitants are forced to draw their only sup- 
ply from a well of extraordinary depth. The descent 
into it is almost perpendicular, but the Indian women 
sling their pitchers behind them, and descend by 
placing their hands and feet in cavities scooped out in 
the rocky sides, with an incredible celerity. Then, 
at a short distance from the village, is the volcano of 
Masaya, — now, indeed, extinct, but, at the time of the 
conquest, known by the name of the Injierno de 
Masaya : the light of the lava constantly boiling up 
in the crater, might be perceived at sea twenty-five 
leagues off. Not far from this is another volcano, 
called Nindiri) from which an eruption took place in 
1775, when " the torrent of lava that rolled into the 
lake of Masaya, destroyed the fish, and heated the 
lands which it traversed to so great a degree, that all 
the cattle feeding on them perished." * 

The city of Leon, the capital of the intendancy, and 
the see of a bishop, is situated in a savanna, about 
eight leagues from the western shore of the lake to 
which it gives name, and four leagues from the shores 
of the Pacific; lat. 12° 20' N., long. 86° 16' W., and 
183 leagues from Guatimala. It was originally 
founded in 1523, on the spot now called Old Leon, 
but was rebuilt on its present site a few years after. 
It contains four churches, three convents, Franciscan, 
Mercedarian, and of San Juan de Dios, a Tridentine 
college with eight professorships, a custom-house, 
tobacco-factory, post-omce, royal treasury, &c, and 
a population of between 7 and 8,000 persons, in- 
cluding upwards of 1,000 Spaniards. The Cortes (of 
Cadiz), by a decree of Jan. 1812, granted permission 

* Near the city of Nicaragua is said to be another volcano, 
which Humboldt calls Momantobo, but Juarros does not men- 
lion it. 



310 GUATIMALA. 

to the city of Leon to erect a university, with the same 
privileges as those enjoyed by the other universities 
of Spanish America. By another decree emanating 
from the same authority, in the same year, the pro- 
vince of Nicaragua was privileged to hold a provincial 
assembly composed of deputies from the districts of 
Leon, Granada, Segovia, Nicaragua, Matagalpa, Ni- 
coya, and Costa Rica, which assembly was installed in 
Oct. 1813.* 

Four leagues to the north-west of Leon, on the 
shores of the Pacific, is the town of Realejo, inhabited 
entirely by Ladinos, who are employed in ship-build- 
ing. The town was built in 1534, by the companions 
of Alvarado in his expedition to Peru, who, observing 
the advantageous situation of the harbour, determined 
to establish themselves on a spot so convenient and 
promising. Its original name was Jaguei, or Cardon, 
and it is said to have received the diminutive appella- 
tion of Realejo from the small number of settlers. 
The harbour is formed, like that of Guayaquil, by 
a large and beautiful river. " There is, perhaps," 
says Juarros, " not a better harbour in the Spanish 
monarchy, and there are very few in the known world 
superior to it. In the first place, it is capable of con- 
taining 1,000 vessels commodiously, affording clean 
and good anchorage in every part; and ships may 
lie close to the shore without the smallest risk or dan- 
ger ; there is not the most trifling impediment to the 
passage in or out, and new vessels may be launched at 
all seasons without the least obstruction. The con-» 
veniences for ship-building cannot be surpassed, as 
timber, cordage, sail-cloth, pitch, and tar, may be 
procured in great abundance ; the supply of masts 

* Juarros, p. 338. 



GUATIMALA. 311 

is inexhaustible. This branch of commerce might be 
most advantageously carried on : in fact, a great num- 
ber of vessels of all sizes were formerly constructed 
here, and were held in such high estimation, that 
Fuentes mentions, that a galleon built in Realejo was 
sold at Callao for 100,000 dollars. The harbour could 
be placed in a respectable state of defence with the 
greatest ease, as a few pieces of cannon mounted in 
battery on the islet of Cardon would, from its 
eminence, completely command the entrance, and 
effectually protect the port. There was formerly 
a different channel into the harbour from the one now 
used. Originally, the passage was between the point of 
the Isle of Cardon and the peninsula of Castanon, and 
ships proceeded up the river to the landing-place at a 
village called Nuestra Senora del Viejo ; but the fall 
of immense quantities of rock, both from the Isle 
of Cardon and the point of Castanon, during a violent 
earthquake, has made this passage impracticable. The 
present channel lies between the" north point of 
Cardon and the isle of Icacos, whence vessels have 
a clear course, and may run up with their bowsprits 
almost into the town." At a short distance is the 
village of the Viejo, where the corregidors have 
resided, on account of its more healthy situation : it 
contains upwards of 3,000 inhabitants, and is, more- 
over, resorted to on certain holydays by devout pil- 
grims from all parts, on account of an inestimable 
hijou, — an image of Nuestra Seuora, which was 
once the property of the immaculate virgin Santa 
Theresa ! 

The whole of this tract of coast is low. That 
of Nicoya, in the south-eastern extremity of the pro- 
vince, is covered at full tide. The road from Realejo 
to Leon, passes for twenty miles across a flat country, 



312 GUATIMALA. 

covered with mangle-trees.* The only other places 
of any consideration in the intendancy are, Segovia 
Nueva, situated on the River Yare, near the confines 
of Tegucigalpa, 30 leagues north of Granada ; Nica- 
ragua, 12 leagues S.E. of Granada, inhabited chiefly 
by Spaniards, who carry on a traffic in cocoa, with an 
Indian village adjoining ; Esteli ; Acoyapa ; Villa 
Nueva ; (all these are in the district of Leon ;) Sub- 
iava, a very populous Indian village, contiguous to 
the city of Leon ; and Nicoya, 

Of the numerous rivers which water this province, 
Juarros enumerates, as the most important, the Creek 
del Viejo (or Realejo River), the River of Nicaragua,-)- 
the Alvarado, and the Nicoya, among those which 
fall into the Pacific ; and the Pontasma, J the Mos- 
quito, the Gold River, the Iron River, and the great 
River San Juan, which discharge their waters into the 
Atlantic. The Nicoya separates this province from 
that of 

COSTA RICA. 

" A name," remarks Juarros, " which at present 
seems continued to it only in irony, as it is more poor 

* Dampier cited by Humboldt. 

f This is called, in the map, the Rio de Pai-tido, and it is repre- 
sented as communicating, by one of its branches, with the lake, 
while the other falls into the Gulf of Papagayo. If so, there 
would already be a water communication between the two oceans. 
But this branch has dissappeared in more recent maps, and is sup- 
posed to be an error. In fact, it is in contradiction to Juarros's 
own statement, that the lake of Nicaragua has no outlet but the 
San Juan. 

± This is called, in the map, the River Vare, or Segovia. It 
rises in the jurisdiction of that city, and being joined by several 
tributaries, becomes a stream of considerable magnitude by the 
time it reaches the Atlantic, where it forms, a small harbour near 
the false Cape Gracias a Dios. 



GUATIMALA. 313 

and destitute than any other.' ? The name of rich 
coast was given to it, hoAvever, on account of the 
rich mines which it contains, of gold, silver, and 
copper. " From the mine called Tisingal" Alcedo 
says, " not less riches have been extracted than from 
that of Potosi in Peru." At the period, too, that 
Porto Bello was the rendezvous of the galleons, the 
commerce of the province was in a most flourishing 
state. The whole of it was well -peopled, the arable 
lands were in a good state of cultivation, and the 
pastures were covered with cattle, horses, and mules, 
in which a considerable trade was carried on with 
Carthagena and Porto Bello from the harbour of 
Matina, and with Panama and other ports of the 
Pacific from La Caldera. Its prosperity and riches 
soon excited the cupidity of adventurers. In 1666, 
a descent was made on the coast by some pirates, 
whose numbers amounted to 1,200 men; but they 
were defeated and driven back by the Spaniards and 
their celestial allies, headed by the Virgin in person, 
whose image continued to be honoured by an annual 
procession in acknowledgement of the victory, up to 
the beginning of the present century. A few years 
afterwards, the pirates of the Pacific, on two several 
occasions, attacked the city of Esparza, plundered 
it, and set it on fire. So completely was it ruined, 
that the inhabitants abandoned it. On the coasts 
of the Atlantic, many attempts were made with 
various success by the Buccaneers; and the Mosco 
Indians made frequent incursions by the harbour 
of Matina, carrying off cocoa, slaves, or whatever else 
they could lay their hands on. These incessant 
and harassing hostilities appear to have led, in con- 
nexion with other circumstances, to the present 
depopulated and neglected state of the province. 



314 



GUATIMALA. 



" Whatever might once have been its importance,'* 
says Juarros, " it is very certain that, at the present 
time, its condition is very deplorable : the population 
is reduced almost to nothing, commerce is annihilated, 
and the mines are no longer worked. In fact, a 
province that, in many respects, merits particular 
attention, is now so much neglected, that none of the 
writers of this kingdom, or foreigners, take any notice 
of it. It extends from the Rio del Salto,* which 
separates it from Nicaragua, to the district of Chi- 
riqui, in the jurisdiction of Veraguas, a distance 
of 1G0 leagues from west to east ; and from the 
Atlantic to the Pacific Ocean, from north to south, 
about 60 leagues. Its limit, on the Atlantic, is from 
the mouth of the River San Juan to the little island 
called the Escudo de Veraguas ; and on the Pacific, 
from the River Alvarado, the boundary of the pro- 
vince of Nicaragua, to the River Boruca, which 
terminates the kingdom of Terra Firma to the west- 
ward. The climate is for the most part warm, but in 
some places it is very temperate ; the soil yields 
cocoa, tobacco, and other productions of warm 
climates ; wheat, and such other articles as are 
peculiar to colder regions, are raised in the moun- 
tainous parts; but all in scanty proportions from the 
want of hands for agricultural employments. There 
are mines of gold, silver, and copper, but they are 
scarcely more productive than the surface of the soil 
is. On the Pacific there is a harbour, that of Caldera, 
or Esparza ; and another on the Atlantic, Matina, or 
the bar of Carpintero, formed by the rivers Barbilla 
and Chirripo, which unite four leagues above the sea. 



* We presume that this is the same river as the Nicoya, which 
is just before stated to be the boundary. 



GUATEMALA. 315 

The rivers Ximenes, Rebentazon, and Moin, dis- 
charge themselves into the Atlantic ; they have suffi- 
cient depth of water to admit the piraguas eight or 
ten leagues inland. The Alvarado, the Rio Grande, 
and the Boruca, with several others of less note, de- 
scend into the Pacific. Within the government of 
Costa Rica there are 1 city, 3 towns, and 10 villages, 
containing together about 30,000 inhabitants, — a 
small proportion, compared with the territorial ex- 
tent of it, and a great diminution of its ancient num- 
bers. In the early periods of the Spanish occupancy, 
there were a governor and four corregidors, who had 
their residences in Quipo, Chirripo, Ujarraz, and the 
four villages contiguous to Cartago : the jurisdiction 
of the first extended to the coast of the South Sea, that 
of the second to the Atlantic, and the two others were 
intermediate. These corregimientos were abolished 
more than a century ago, and of many of the villages 
belonging to them, there are no vestiges remaining." 

Since the time that this was written, some im- 
provement has probably taken place in the state of 
things, as the present amount of the population of 
Costa Rica is computed to be nearly 38,000, although 
we know not whether the calculation rests on any 
certain data. The chief city, said to be the most an- 
cient in the kingdom, is Cartago^ situated in the heart 
of the province, 80 leagues from the boundary of Nica- 
ragua, the same distance from Terra Firma, 30 
leagues from Esparza, about as many from Matina, 
and 400 leagues E.S.E. from Guatimala ; it is in lat. 
9° 10', and long. 82° 46' W. It stands in a healthy 
situation, and enjoys a benignant climate ; contains a 
church, a Franciscan convent, a sanctuary, and two 
oratories ; and has a population of upwards of 8,000 
persons, viz. 600 Spaniards, 6,000 Mestizoes, and 



316 GUATIMALA. 

1,700 Ladinos. Next to the capital, the most popu- 
lous town is Villa Nueva de San Jose, situated in a 
valley at a short distance from Cartago : it contains a 
population very nearly equal in numbers, with three 
times as large a proportion of Spaniards. Villa Vieja 
has 6,660 inhabitants, of whom 1,800 are Spaniards, 
and 4,000 Mestizoes : Villa Hermosa, included in the 
same curacy, has a population of 4,000 persons. 
Ujarraz is now a place of very trifling consequence. 
Esperaza, and the neighbouring town of Bagases^ are 
entirely abandoned. 

Should the " Atlantic and Pacific Company" suc- 
ceed in completing their undertaking, this important 
province will no doubt reap essential advantages from 
the impulse which will be communicated to commerce 
and every internal improvement. It is one object 
which the Company have in view, to enter into con- 
tracts for working the valuable mines with whicli 
these regions are ascertained to abound. Yet, till 
now, who had ever heard of the mines of Guatimala ? 
In Humboldt's general table of the annual produce of 
the mines, &c. of Spanish America, against Guatimala 
is written, " Nothing."* The total value of goods 
imported from the Old Continent into this kingdom, 
is stated at only two millions of piasters, while the 
imports of New Spain are estimated at twenty mil- 
lions, and those of Cuba and Porto Rico at eleven 
millions ! In the captaincy-general of Guatimala, as 
well as those of Caraccas, Chile, and Cuba, the whole 
receipts of the treasury were consumed by the ex- 
penses of administration, so that the mother country 
actually derived no net revenue from those colonies.* 

But the system which so long condemned these 

* Pol. Essay, vol. iv. p. 322. 



GUATIMALA. 317 

line countries to remain stationary in civilisation, and 
morally as well as politically unproductive, exists no 
longer : the sovereignty of Spain in that hemisphere 
has received its last blow from the hands of Bolivar. 
In the recent message of the Vice-President of 
Colombia to the Congress of 1825, assembled at Bogota, 
it is noticed, that " the provinces of Guatimala con- 
tinue to preserve unmolested the sovereignty into 
which they spontaneously elected themselves. An 
accredited minister from that Government to the 
Republic is now," it is added, u residing in our capi- 
tal." The message proceeds to advert to the necessity 
of adjusting and establishing the still undetermined 
limits between Colombia and Guatimala, " inasmuch 
as certain foreigners have pretended to a right to the 
coast of Mosquito, and as the interior boundary line 
between the two countries is not ascertained." " The 
Executive, (it is added,) in strict compliance with the 
law of the 12th of July, 1821, has declared that that 
part of the Atlantic coast which extends from Cape 
Gracias a Dios to the River Chagres, belongs to the 
Republic, and that all colonisation made therein 
without the sanction of the government and laws of 
Colombia, is null and void." Should this line of 
coast, however, be definitely annexed to Colombia, it 
will of course place under the control of that republic 
the navigation of the River San Juan, and conse- 
quently of the lakes and the intended ship -canal. It 
will amount, in fact, to little short of a cession of the 
whole of Costa Rica, and the greater part of Nicaragua. 

* Pol. Essay, vol. iv. p. 204. 



318 



GUATIMALA. 



To revert to the subject of mines. The produce of 
those of Mexico, when Humboldt wrote his Political 
Essay, had tripled in fifty-two years, and sextupled in 
a hundred years ; * and it will admit, he remarks, of 
greater increase as the country shall become more 
populous, and industry and information become more 
diffused. Sir William Adams, in a recent pamphlet 
on the Actual State of the Mexican Mines, maintains 
that the Anglo-Mexican Associations may reasonably 
expect to raise treble the quantity of ore formerly ob- 
tained, by working them scientifically, and by the aid 
of machinery. The expenses of working them, no 
doubt, admit of being reduced to a great degree. By 
the very imperfect process of amalgamation hitherto 
adopted, the loss in mercury alone is stated to have 
amounted to an eighth or even a sixth of the produce. 
At Freiberg, Humboldt says, they employ from CO to 
150 times less time in extracting the silver, than in 
the Spanish colonies, and consume in amalgamation 



* The quantity of gold and silver imported into Europe from 
America between the years 1402 and 1803, is calculated to amount 
to 1,166,775,322/. sterling. Till 1525, Europe had received from 
the New World little else than gold. From that period till the 
discovery of the mines of Brazil, towards the end of the seven- 
teenth century, the silver imported exceeded the importation of 
gold in the proportion of 60 or 65 to 1. In the first half of the 
eighteenth century, the mines of Brazil, Chili, Choco, &c, fur- 
nished so considerable a quantity of gold, that the proportion was 
scarcely 30 to 1. During the latter half of the last century, the 
silver again increased in the market ; the annual produce of the 
mines of Mexico rose from 600,000 marcs to 2,500,000; and, 
as the produce of gold did not increase in the same proportion, the 
quantity imported of the two precious metals was as 1 to 40. The 
mines of Mexico have counterbalanced the effects which the 
abundance of the gold of Brazil would have produced. The East 
Indies and China are the countries which have absorbed the greater 
part of the gold and silver extracted from the mines of America. 



GUATIMALA. 319 

eight times less mercury. It lias been experimentally 
ascertained, Sir W. Adams says, that the Mexican 
ores admit of being most beneficially reduced by the 
same processes that are employed for the reduction of 
the tin ores in Cornwall. Mr. Moyle, an experienced 
mining engineer, who has been sent out to Mexico by 
the Anglo-Mexican Mining Association, reports that, 
" should it be found advisable to employ the process 
of amalgamation, (in consequence either of a scarcity 
of fuel, or from some species of the ores requiring to 
be amalgamated with quicksilver, in order to extract 
all the silver,) — this process, which costs the Mexicans 
the labour of from two to five months, may be better 
effected in six hours ; while Mr. Perkins has discovered 
a method of separating the two metals with scarcely 
any loss of quicksilver." 

Should these calculations prove accurate, the favour- 
able opinion lately expressed by Baron Humboldt is 
likely to be verified ; that the mining operations 
about to be undertaken by British capitalists could 
not fail to be the most important and lucrative under- 
taking that had yet been entered into. But it may 
possibly occur to the reader to inquire, whether the 
interests of society would not be placed in jeopardy by 
the rapid increase of the quantity of specie which 
may thus be anticipated, — whether a depreciation of 
the precious metals must not ensue, which will occa- 
sion a relative rise in the value of all other commo- 
dities, and materially affect all existing contracts. 
The learned Traveller above named, maintains that 
the danger is not so great as it appears on a first view, 
because the quantity of commodities which enter into 
commerce, increases with the augmentation of the 
currency which represents them. " The price of 
grain, it is true," he says, " has tripled since the 

TA21T iv. u 



320 GUATIMALA, 

treasures of the New Continent were poured into the 
Old. This rise, which was not felt till the middle of 
the sixteenth century, took place suddenly between 
1570 and 1595, when the silver of Mexico began 
to flow through all parts of Europe. But, between 
that memorable period in the history of commerce and 
the year 10*36, the discovery of the mines of America 
produced its whole effect on the reduction of the 
value of money. The price of grain has not in reality 
risen to the present day ; and if the contrary has 
been advanced by several authors, it is from their 
having confounded the nominal value of coin with 
the tine proportion between money and commodities/' 
It would be foreign from our object to pursue this 
inquiry, which is, however, a most important one. 
The first effect which might be expected to ensue from 
the present undertakings, is, the depreciation of silver 
relative to gold, unless the mines of Brazil shall, 
under the same improved management, be made to 
furnish a correspondent produce. But such deprecia- 
tion is, perhaps, more likely to affect the profits of the 
miner, than to produce any material effect on the 
currency. 



END OF GUATIMALA. 






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